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\ 


THE  LIFE  OF 
RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HATES 

IN  TWO  VOLUMES 
VOLUME  II 


THE  LIFE  OF 

RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD 

HAYES 

NINETEENTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES 

BY 

CHARLES  RICHARD  WILLIAMS 

WITH  PORTRAITS  AND  OTHER  ILLUSTRATIONS 

VOLUME  II 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 


1914 


COPYRIGHT,   1914,   BY  CHARLES   RICHARD  WILLIAMS 
ALL   RIGHTS   RESERVED 

Published  October  1914 


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CONTENTS 

XXVII.  INAUGURATION  AND  CABINET 1 

XXVHI.  THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM 33 

XXIX.  EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM       .        .        .69 
XXX.  RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS   .        .        .        .112 

XXXI.  THE  CIPHER  DISPATCHES 142 

XXXII.  THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS          ....  170 

XXXIII.  FOREIGN  RELATIONS  —  INDIAN  POLICY,  ETC.    .        .  208 

XXXIV.  AMONG  THE  PEOPLE;  NEW  ENGLAND  AND  THE  SOUTH 

—  RECONCILIATION 241 

XXXV.  AMONG  THE  PEOPLE;  THE  NORTHWEST  —  AN  HONEST 

DOLLAR 255 

XXXVI.  AMONG  THE   PEOPLE;   THE  CENTRAL  WEST  —  NA 
TIONALISM       269 

XXXVII.  AMONG  THE  PEOPLE;  THE  PACIFIC  COAST  —  EDUCA 
TION        .   .        .        .        .286 

XXXVIII.  LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 299 

XXXIX.  THE  RETURN  TO  SPIEGEL  GROVE     .        .        .        .829 

XL.  PHILANTHROPIC  ACTIVITIES 338 

XLI.  INTEREST  IN  POLITICAL  QUESTIONS  .        .        .        .361 

XLII.  THE  FINAL  SCENES 386 

XLIII.  PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS 411 

APPENDIX 439 

INDEX  .  .  .451 


642454 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PRESIDENT  RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES,  1880      .        .      Frontispiece 
THE  INAUGURATION  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES,  MARCH  5,  1877  .       6 

PRESIDENT  HAYES  AND  HIS  CABINET.  AT  THE  PRESIDENT'S 
RIGHT,  WILLIAM  M.  EVARTS,  GEORGE  W.  MCCRARY,  AND 
DAVID  M.  KEY;  AT  HIS  LEFT,  JOHN  SHERMAN,  RICHARD 
W.  THOMPSON.  CHARLES  DEVENS,  AND  CARL  SCHURZ  .  28 

THE  LOUISIANA  COMMISSION 54 

CHARLES  B.  LAWRENCE,  OF  ILLINOIS  ;  JOSEPH  R.  HAWLEY, 
OF  CONNECTICUT  ;  JOHN  M.  HARLAN,  OF  KENTUCKY  ;  JOHN 
C.  BROWN,  OF  TENNESSEE  ;  AND  WAYNE  MACVEAGH,  OF 
PENNSYLVANIA. 

PRESIDENT  HAYES'S  DIPLOMATIC  APPOINTMENTS    .         .        .88 
JOHN  WELSH,  OF  PENNSYLVANIA  (1805-1886),  MINISTER  TO 
GREAT  BRITAIN,  1878. 

JAMES  RUSSELL  LOWELL,  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  (1819-1891), 
MINISTER  TO  SPAIN  1877,  TO  GREAT  BRITAIN  1879. 

GENERAL  EDWARD  F.  NOYES,  OF  OHIO  (1832-1890),  MINIS 
TER  TO  FRANCE,  1877. 

ANDREW  D.  WHITE,  OF  NEW  YORK  (1832-  ),  MINISTER  TO 
GERMANY,  1879. 

E.  W.  STOUGHTON,  OF  NEW  YORK  (1818-1882),  MINISTER 
TO  RUSSIA,  1877. 

BAYARD  TAYLOR,  OF  PENNSYLVANIA  (1825-1878),  MINISTER 

TO  GERMANY,  1878. 

JOHN  A.  KASSON,  OF  IOWA  (1822-  ),  MINISTER  TO  AUSTRIA, 

1877. 


viii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

GENERAL  JAMES  M.  COMLY,  OF  OHIO  (1832-1887),  MINISTER 
TO  SANDWICH  ISLANDS,  1877. 

PRESIDENT  HAYES'S  SUPREME  COURT  APPOINTMENTS     .         .  108 
JOHN  M.  HARLAN,  OF  KENTUCKY  (1833-1911),  APPOINTED 
ASSOCIATE  JUSTICE,  1877. 

WILLIAM  B.  WOODS,  OF  ALABAMA  (1824-1887),  APPOINTED 
ASSOCIATE  JUSTICE,  1880. 

STANLEY    MATTHEWS,   OF    OHIO   (1824-1889),    APPOINTED 
ASSOCIATE  JUSTICE,  1881. 

PRESIDENT  HAYES  IN  1877     .......  122 

From  Photograph  by  Landy 

MRS.  LUCY  WEBB  HAYES  IN  1877 132 

From  Photograph  by  Sarony. 

PRESIDENT  RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES 306 

From  Portrait  painted  for  the  White  House  by  Daniel  Hunt- 
ington. 

MRS.  LUCY  WEBB  HAYES 326 

From  portrait  by  Daniel  Huntington.  Presented  to  the  White 
House  by  the  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union;  accepted 
by  President  Garfield,  1881. 

THE  HOUSE  AT  SPIEGEL   GROVE  IN  1889.     THE  HOUSE  RE 
MAINS  UNCHANGED   IN   EXTERNAL   APPEARANCE  .  .   330 

THE  BUCKLAND  GATEWAY,  THE  MAIN  ENTRANCE  TO  SPIEGEL 
GROVE 336 

THE  HARRISON  TRAIL  AND   GRANDFATHER'S   OAK,  SPIEGEL 
GROVE.    HARRISON  TRAIL  GATEWAY  IN  THE  DISTANCE    .  340 

PRESIDENT  AND  MRS.  HAYES  AND  WILLIAM  HENRY  SMITH. 
ON  THE  PIAZZA  AT  SPIEGEL  GROVE,  1889         .        .        .  350 

SPIEGEL  GROVE  IN  WINTER 378 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES,  1892,  AT   THE   AGE   OF  SEVENTY; 
THE  LAST  PHOTOGRAPH  .  394 


ILLUSTRATIONS  ix 

MILITARY  GROUP *  422 

GENERAL  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT,  2o  GENERAL,  U.S.  ARMY,  18TH 
PRESIDENT.  1822-1885. 

GENERAL  WILLIAM  T.  SHERMAN,  SD  GENERAL  U.S.  ARMY, 
1820-1891. 

GENERAL  PHILIP  H.  SHERIDAN,  4TH  GENERAL  U.S.  ARMY, 
1831-1888. 

MAJOR  GENERAL  GEORGE  CROOK,  U.S.A.  1828-1890. 
MAJOR  GENERAL  WINFIELD  S.  HANCOCK,  U.S.A.,  1824-1886. 

HAYES  MEMORIAL  BUILDING,  ERECTED  IN  SPIEGEL  GROVE, 
1912-14,  BY  THE  STATE  OF  OHIO  FOR  THE  PRESERVATION 
OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES'S  BOOKS,  PAPERS,  AND  COLLECTIONS  446 


THE  LIFE  OF 
RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 


"  He  serves  his  Party  best  who 
serves  his  Country  best." 


THE  LIFE  OF 

RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD 

HAYES 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

INAUGURATION  AND   CABINET 

DURING  all  the  weeks  of  passionate  partisan  assertion  and 
appeal,  of  constantly  shifting  surmises  and  reports,  it  was 
quite  in  the  nature  of  things  that  threats  of  personal  violence 
and  hints  of  assassination  should  now  and  then  burst  into 
expression  from  desperate  or  ill-balanced  persons.  Mr.  Hayes 
received  many  anonymous  letters  warning  him  that  he  should 
not  live  to  be  inaugurated  if  he  persisted  in  standing  upon  his 
rights  and  were  declared  elected.1  At  least  one  of  these  letters 
reached  the  public  prints.  It  was  dated  at  St.  Louis  and  pur 
ported  to  be  written  by  a  Southern  woman,  though  the  pen 
manship  appeared  masculine.  In  phrases  saturate  with  the  very 
gall  of  bitterness,  it  bade  Mr.  Hayes  remember  the  fate  of 
Lincoln,  and  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come.  Of  course  neither  to 
this  letter  nor  to  any  other  of  similar  quality  did  its  recipient 
pay  the  least  attention.  He  had  faced  death  too  often  in  the 
line  of  duty,  on  battlefield  and  bivouac,  to  be  disturbed  by  the 
cowardly  ravings  of  unknown  miscreants  who  proposed  to  strike 
in  the  dark.  No  one  can  protect  himself  against  the  assassin's 
blow  if  the  assassin  is  ready  himself  to  risk  ignominious  death. 
That  all  the  threats  might  not  be  idle  seemed  to  be  proved  by 
the  fact  that  one  evening,  while  Mr.  Hayes  was  seated  with  his 

1  President  Grant  received  similar  threatening  letters.  Attorney-General  Taft, 
in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Hayes  of  December  6,  1876,  wrote:  "The  President  is  receiving 
every  day  threatening  letters,  or  letters  declaring  that  there  is  a  plot  to  resist 
your  inauguration,  and  to  kill  him.  He  sends  all  these  letters  over  to  me.  There  is 
a  great  deal  said  of  extensive  preparations  to  seat  Tilden  by  force.  Several  men 
have  called  on  me  to  assure  me  that  there  is  danger." 


a;  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

family  at  supper,  a  bullet  pierced  the  plate  glass  of  the  parlor 
window,  the  shade  of  which  was  only  partly  lowered.  It  trav 
ersed  the  front  room  and  the  connecting  back  parlor,  passed 
through  the  open  door  of  the  small  library,  and  buried  itself  in 
the  library  wall.  There  was  a  moment  of  disquiet,  and  then  at 
once  strict  injunctions  of  secrecy  were  laid  upon  the  household. 
Thus,  no  mention  of  the  incident  found  its  way  into  the  news 
papers  of  the  day.  Of  course  it  could  not  be  positively  known 
that  the  shot  was  fired  with  murderous  intent,  but  the  attendant 
circumstances  made  that  hypothesis  most  probable;  and  whether 
it  was  or  not,  it  was  wise  not  to  magnify  it  by  sensational  pub 
licity.  It  was  Mr.  Hayes's  custom  at  this  period  to  walk  late 
every  evening  to  the  home  of  his  niece,  Mrs.  Mitchell,  several 
blocks  from  his  own  house,  where  he  made  a  short  visit  and  then 
walked  homeward  again.  His  intimate  friends  were  apprehen 
sive  for  his  safety  and  advised  him  to  give  up  this  custom,  but 
he  would  not  listen  to  their  fears.  His  son,  Webb,  was  his  com 
panion  on  these  walks,  and  in  deference  to  the  solicitude  of 
friends  always  went  armed  with  a  revolver.  But  no  suspicious 
persons  were  ever  encountered  and  no  untoward  incident 
occurred. 

In  the  last  few  days  of  the  count,  when  the  Democrats  in 
Congress  were  seeking  to  delay  and  filibuster,  and  the  air  was 
full  of  revolutionary  designs,  some  of  the  partisan  papers  of 
the  baser  sort  fairly  screamed  themselves  hoarse  with  incendiary 
utterances;  and  many  of  Mr.  Hayes's  friends  feared  that  his 
journey  to  Washington  might  be  attended  with  peril.  Mr. 
Stanley  Matthews,  one  of  his  counsel  before  the  Electoral  Com 
mission,  writing  him  from  Washington,  February  19,  said:  — 

An  arrangement  will  be  made,  as  I  am  informed  by  the  Secretary  of 
War,  for  a  private  car  via  Harrisburg  and  Baltimore,  and  you  had  better 
come  on  twenty-four  hours  in  advance  of  any  knowledge  of  the  fact.  I 
think  you  ought  to  take  precautions  for  safety,  as  there  is  undoubtedly 
a  very  dangerous  class  here  and  perhaps  elsewhere  ready  for  mischief. 
The  Capital  of  yesterday  had  an  article  directly  instigating  assassina 
tion.1 

1  The  article  contained  this  sentence:  "If  a  man  thus  returned  to  power  can 
ride  in  safety  from  the  Executive  Mansion  to  the  Capitol  to  be  inaugurated,  we 
are  fitted  for  the  slavery  that  will  follow  the  inauguration." 


INAUGURATION  AND  CABINET  3 

Three  days  later  a  letter  from  a  friend  in  Baltimore  advised 
Mr.  Hayes  "by  all  means  to  avoid  coming  through  Baltimore"; 
or,  if  he  must,  to  pass  through  in  the  daytime  without  making 
any  stop.  "I  feel  impressed,"  the  writer  said,  "with  the  convic 
tion  that  there  are  individual  men  so  bitter,  so  wicked,  and  so 
reckless  that  if  they  had  the  opportunity,  they  would  assassinate 
you."  Colonel  L.  C.  Weir,  of  Cincinnati,  of  Governor  Hayes's 
staff,  who  had  charge  of  the  arrangements  for  the  journey  to 
Washington,  also  received  precautionary  warnings  1  from  sev 
eral  public  men,  but  he  believed  their  fears  had  little  substantial 
basis.  He  "  took  just  enough  stock  in  it  [the  possibility  of  danger] 
to  watch  for  it  and  no  more,"  as  he  said  in  writing  Mr.  Hayes  of 
the  plan  for  the  trip.2 

Senator  Sherman  and  others  advised  Mr.  Hayes  that  he  ought 
to  be  in  Washington  at  least  ten  days  or  a  week  before  the  date 
of  the  inauguration  that  he  might  have  abundant  opportunity 
for  conferences  with  party  leaders.  But  Mr.  Hayes  was  reluctant 
to  appear  at  the  Capital  before  his  election  had  actually  been 
declared;  and  as  the  count  was  prolonged  by  the  dilatory  tactics 
of  the  Democrats  in  the  House,  he  remained  at  Columbus  until 
Thursday,  March  1,  when  the  two  private  cars  for  himself  and 
his  friends  were  attached  to  the  regular  afternoon  passenger 
train  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railway.  The  evening  before,  the 
people  of  Columbus  had  given  him  and  Mrs.  Hayes  a  brilliant 
reception  at  the  State  House,3  and  they  were  escorted  to  the 

1  Major  Bickham,  of  the  Dayton  Journal,  wrote  him  from  Washington  Febru 
ary  16:  "In  view  of  the  attempt  to  murder  Packard,  I  told  Judge  Taft  that  the 
President  ought  to  be  urged  to  provide  that  Hayes  should  reach  Washington 
safely.  He  replied : '  That  has  been  considered.  The  President  will  see  to  it.'  But, 
my  dear  fellow,  you  must  be  constantly  watchful.  Hayes  is  so  fearless  that  he  will 
be  constantly  in  danger.  Watch  carefully.  Keep  brave,  careful  men  ahead  when 
you  start,  and  especially  at  stopping-places.  Hayes  ought  not  to  come  through 
Virginia  and  Maryland,  but  by  a  northern  line.    Reason  this  out  for  yourself. 
This  city  is  full  of  bold,  bad,  desperate  men.  I  have  said  enough  to  assure  you,  if 
you  need  a  hint.  But  still  I  say  be  careful." 

2  That  these  many  warnings  made  some  impression  on  Mr.  Hayes's  mind 
seems  to  be  indicated  by  the  fact  that  in  writing  a  letter  to  President  Grant,  on 
February  23,  about  his  coming  to  Washington,  he  added  this  postscript:  "It  is 
perhaps  best  that  the  date  of  my  expected  arrival  in  Washington  should  not  be 
made  public." 

8  The  reception  was  'followed  by  a  joint  meeting  of  the  two  houses  of  the 
Legislature  in  the  chamber  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  presided  over  by 
the  President  of  the  Senate,  to  do  honor  to  the  retiring  Governor.  Laudatory 


4  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

train  by  the  College  Cadets  and  a  vast  throng  of  citizens,  to 
whom  Mr.  Hayes  made  a  short  farewell  speech,  from  the  rear 
platform  of  his  car.  He  said :  — 

My  Fellow  Citizens,  —  I  appear  to  say  a  few  words  in  bidding  good 
bye  to  you.  I  understand  very  well  the  uncertainty  of  public  affairs  at 
Washington;  I  understand  very  well  that  possibly  next  week  I  may  be 
with  you  again  to  resume  my  place  in  the  Governor's  office  and  as  your 
fellow  citizen.  But  I  also  understand  that  it  is  my  duty  to  be  at  Wash 
ington,  prepared  to  assume  another  position  higher  and  more  responsi 
ble  and  with  more  difficult  duties.  I  have  thought,  as  I  looked  upon  this 
great  audience  and  as  to-day  I  gazed  on  the  people  who  thronged  our 
route  to  this  depot,  of  a  similar  occurrence  sixteen  years  ago.  A  little  less 
than  sixteen  years  ago  I  marched  down  High  Street  with  one  thousand 
men  to  pass  to  the  East  and  to  the  South  to  do  what  we  could  to  restore 
the  Union  of  the  States,  and  to  reestablish  the  authority  of  the  Constitu 
tion.  In  that  work  we  were  eminently  successful,  so  far  as  it  was  possible 
to  be  successful  by  force  of  arms. 

I  am  not  here  to  say  a  word  in  disparagement  of  what  was  accom 
plished  by  the  brave  men  who  went  with  me  from  different  parts  of  the 
country.  Of  my  comrades,  one  third  and  over  never  returned  to  their 
homes.  They  perished  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty,  that  the  Republic 
might  live.  But  there  was  something  that  force  could  not  do.  We  would 
have  our  Union  to  be  a  union  of  hearts,  and  we  would  have  our  Consti 
tution  obeyed,  not  merely  because  of  force  that  compels  obedience,  but 
obeyed  because  the  people  love  the  principles  of  the  Constitution. 

And  to-day  I  am  called  to  the  work  to  which  Abraham  Lincoln  was 
called  sixteen  years  ago.  It  is  under  brighter  skies  and  more  favorable 
auspices.  I  do  hope,  I  do  fervently  believe,  that  by  the  aid  of  Divine 
Providence  we  may  do  something  in  this  day  of  peace,  by  works  of  peace, 
toward  reestablishing  in  the  hearts  of  our  countrymen  a  real,  a  hearty 
attachment  to  the  Constitution  as  it  is  and  to  the  Union  as  it  is. 

In  Mr.  Hayes's  car,  besides  his  immediate  family,  were 
William  Henry  Smith,  and  a  few  other  intimate  friends  from 
Columbus  and  Cincinnati.  At  the  Ohio  towns,  where  the  train 
paused,  and  at  Pittsburg,  enthusiastic  crowds  were  gathered  to 
wish  the  new  President  godspeed.  Early  the  next  morning,  near 
Harrisburg,  the  party  were  awakened  to  hear  the  news  that  the 

addresses  were  made  to  which  Mr.  Hayes  feelingly  responded,  closing  with  these 
words:  "As  for  myself  and  family,  we  go,  perhaps  to  return  again  in  a  few  days  to 
occupy  our  accustomed  place  in  this  community;  possibly  we  go  to  other  scenes 
and  duties,  not  to  meet  you  again.  In  that  event,  I  wish  to  say  to  you,  as  Mr. 
Lincoln  said  on  parting  with  his  friends  at  Springfield  sixteen  years  ago,  that '  I 
trust  you  will  pray  that  I  may  have  that  Divine  assistance  and  guidance,  with 
out  which  I  cannot  succeed,  and  with  which  I  cannot  fail.' " 


INAUGURATION  AND  CABINET  5 

two  houses  had  counted  the  last  State  and  the  formal  declara 
tion  that  Mr.  Hayes  was  elected  President  had  been  made. 
Throughout  the  journey  no  unpleasant  incident  or  hostile  dem 
onstration  occurred. 

President  Grant  had  written  Mr.  Hayes  a  cordial  invitation 
to  come  direct  to  the  White  House  and  be  his  guest  until  after 
the  inauguration.  But  it  had  seemed  to  him  and  to  his  friends 
that  his  presence  there  might  be  a  source  of  embarrassment  to 
all  concerned,  and  so  he  accepted  Senator  Sherman's  hospitality. 
Mr.  Hayes  was  met  at  the  station  by  Senator  Sherman  and 
General  Sherman  and  driven  at  once  to  the  former's  residence. 
Immediately  after  breakfast  he  called  with  Senator  Sherman  at 
the  White  House  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  President.  After  a 
pleasant  half-hour  with  General  Grant,  who  presented  to  him 
the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  he  drove  to  the  Capitol.  There  in 
the  Vice-President's  room  he  was  waited  upon  by  many  Senators 
and  Representatives,  Democrats  as  well  as  Republicans,  who 
were  eager  to  meet  the  new  President  to  be.  All  the  rest  of  that 
day  he  was  constantly  in  consultation  with  party  leaders.  Satur 
day  evening  President  Grant  gave  a  state  dinner  in  his  honor. 
Mr.  Wheeler,  the  Chief  Justice,  and  the  members  of  the  Cabinet1 
and  their  wives,  were  of  the  party.  Just  before  going  into  the 
dining-room,  President  Grant,  Mr.  Hayes,  Chief  Justice  Waite, 
and  U.  S.  Grant,  Jr.,  withdrew  to  the  Red  Room,  where,  with 
out  the  knowledge  of  the  other  guests,  the  oath  of  office  was 
administered  to  Mr.  Hayes  by  the  Chief  Justice.  This  was  done 
to  prevent  an  interregnum.2  Monday  noon  at  the  Capitol,  with 
all  due  formality,  the  oath  was  repeated,  the  inaugural  address 
was  delivered  before  a  vast  concourse  of  people,  and  Mr.  Hayes 
returned  to  the  White  House,  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Republic.3 

1  Except  Secretary  Morrill  who  was  ill. 

2  "  It  was  arranged  that  I  should,  in  the  evening  before  the  state  dinner  at  the 
White  House,  be  sworn  by  the  Chief  Justice,  to  prevent  an  interregnum  between 
Sunday  noon  (March  4)  and  the  inauguration  Monday.  This  was  on  the  ad 
vice  of  Secretary  Fish  and  the  President.    I  did  not  altogether  approve  but 
acquiesced."    (Diary.) 

3  "The  day  was  bright  and  beautiful,  and  nothing  marred  the  splendor  of  the 
procession  or  the  ceremony."   (New  York  Herald.) 

"The  space  in  front  of  the  Capitol  was  packed  with  spectators.  At  least  thirty 
thousand  people  were  gathered  there,  waiting  for  the  approach  of  the  procession. 
Its  coming  was  heralded  by  hearty  shouts  of  welcome  and  applause.  .  .  .  After 


6  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

For  the  moment  the  contentions  and  rivalries  which  had  en 
dangered  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  nation  were  lulled  and 
the  beginning  of  the  new  Administration  promised  well. 
The  inaugural  address  was  as  follows :  — 

Fellow  Citizens,  —  We  have  assembled  to  repeat  the  public  ceremo 
nial,  begun  by  Washington,  observed  by  all  my  predecessors,  and  now  a 
time-honored  custom,  which  marks  the  commencement  of  a  new  term 
of  the  Presidential  office.  Called  to  the  duties  of  this  great  trust,  I  pro 
ceed,  in  compliance  with  usage,  to  announce  some  of  the  leading  prin 
ciples  on  the  subjects  that  now  chiefly  engage  the  public  attention,  by 
which  it  is  my  desire  to  be  guided  in  the  discharge  of  those  duties.  I  shall 
not  undertake  to  lay  down  irrevocably  principles  or  measures  of  admin 
istration,  but  rather  to  speak  of  the  motives  which  should  animate  us, 
and  to  suggest  certain  important  ends  to  be  attained  in  accordance  with 
our  institutions  and  essential  to  the  welfare  of  our  country. 

At  the  outset  of  the  discussions  which  preceded  the  recent  Presidential 
election,  it  seemed  to  me  fitting  that  I  should  fully  make  known  my 
sentiments  in  regard  to  several  of  the  important  questions  which  then 
appeared  to  demand  the  consideration  of  the  country.  Following  the 
example,  and  in  part  adopting  the  language,  of  one  of  my  predecessors, 
I  wish  now,  when  every  motive  for  misrepresentation  has  passed  away, 
to  repeat  what  was  said  before  the  election,  trusting  that  my  country 
men  will  candidly  weigh  and  understand  it,  and  that  they  will  feel  as 
sured  that  the  sentiments  declared  in  accepting  the  nomination  for  the 

the  foreign  ministers,  the  Supreme  Court  judges,  the  members  of  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives,  and  other  distinguished  persons  had  taken  seats,  the 
President-elect  and  General  Grant  appeared,  arm  in  arm,  preceded  by  the  clerk  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  bearing  the  Bible  upon  which  the  oath  of  office  was  to  be 
taken. 

"As  the  new  President  of  the  United  States  walked  down  to  the  front  of  the 
platform  and  took  his  place,  he  was  again  cheered  with  a  heartiness  that  displayed 
the  popular  satisfaction  his  appearance  awakened.  When  silence  was  restored,  he 
at  once  commenced  the  delivery  of  his  inaugural  address.  It  was  listened  to  with 
marked  attention,  and  was  at  many  points  loudly  applauded.  The  President 
spoke  in  a  clear  and  deliberate  tone,  and  his  words  were  heard  even  by  those  who 
stood  on  the  outer  edge  of  the  vast  throng  of  people  assembled  to  witness  the 
ceremony. 

"When  the  address  was  concluded,  the  oath  of  office  was  administered  to  the 
new  President  by  Chief  Justice  Waite.  The  President  then  reentered  his  carriage. 
The  ringing  of  bells,  the  firing  of  cannon,  and  the  cheers  of  the  great  multitude 
greeted  him  as  he  passed  from  the  Capitol  to  the  White  House. 

"  In  the  evening  the  streets  of  Washington  were  so  thronged  with  people  that  it 
was  difficult  to  move  about  except  with  the  general  mass.  All  the  public  build 
ings  and  many  private  houses  were  brilliantly  illuminated.  Bands  were  playing, 
rockets  flying,  and  cannon  firing.  Pennsylvania  Avenue  from  end  to  end  was 
one  sea  of  light.  ...  An  immense  torchlight  procession  ended  the  ceremonies.'* 
(Harper's  Weekly,  March  24,  1877.)  ^ 


THE  INAUGURATION  OF  PRESIDENT  HAYES,  MARCH  5,  1877 


INAUGURATION  AND  CABINET  7 

Presidency  will  be  the  standard  of  my  conduct  in  the  path  before  me, 
charged,  as  I  now  am,  with  the  grave  and  difficult  task  of  carrying  them 
out  in  the  practical  administration  of  the  Government  so  far  as  depends, 
under  the  Constitution  and  laws,  on  the  Chief  Executive  of  the  nation. 

The  permanent  pacification  of  the  country  upon  such  principles  and 
by  such  measures  as  will  secure  the  complete  protection  of  all  its  citizens 
in  the  free  enjoyment  of  all  their  constitutional  rights  is  now  the  one 
subject,  in  our  public  affairs,  which  all  thoughtful  and  patriotic  citizens 
regard  as  of  supreme  importance. 

Many  of  the  calamitous  effects  of  the  tremendous  revolution  which 
has  passed  over  the  Southern  States  still  remain.  The  immeasurable 
benefits  which  will  surely  follow,  sooner  or  later,  the  hearty  and  gener 
ous  acceptance  of  the  legitimate  results  of  that  revolution,  have  not 
yet  been  realized.  Difficult  and  embarrassing  questions  meet  us  at  the 
threshold  of  this  subject.  The  people  of  those  States  are  still  impov 
erished,  and  the  inestimable  blessing  of  wise,  honest,  and  peaceful  self- 
government  is  not  fully  enjoyed.  Whatever  difference  of  opinion  may 
exist  as  to  the  cause  of  this  condition  of  things,  the  fact  is  clear,  that,  in 
the  progress  of  events,  the  time  has  come  when  such  government  is  the 
imperative  necessity  required  by  all  the  varied  interests,  public  and 
private,  of  those  States.  But  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  only  a  local 
government  which  recognizes  and  maintains  inviolate  the  rights  of  all 
is  a  true  self-government. 

With  respect  to  the  two  distinct  races  whose  peculiar  relations  to 
each  other  have  brought  upon  us  the  deplorable  complications  and 
perplexities  which  exist  in  those  States,  it  must  be  a  government  which 
guards  the  interests  of  both  races  carefully  and  equally.  It  must  be  a 
government  which  submits  loyally  and  heartily  to  the  Constitution  and 
the  laws  —  the  laws  of  the  nation  and  the  laws  of  the  States  themselves 
—  accepting  and  obeying  faithfully  the  whole  Constitution  as  it  is. 

Resting  upon  this  sure  and  substantial  foundation,  the  superstructure 
of  beneficent  local  governments  can  be  built  up,  and  not  otherwise.  In 
furtherance  of  such  obedience  to  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of  the  Consti 
tution,  and  in  behalf  of  all  that  its  attainment  implies,  all  so-called  party 
interests  lose  their  apparent  importance,  and  party  lines  may  well  be 
permitted  to  fade  into  insignificance.  The  question  we  have  to  consider 
for  the  immediate  welfare  of  those  States  of  the  Union  is  the  question  of 
government  or  no  government,  of  social  order  and  all  the  peaceful  indus 
tries  and  the  happiness  that  belong  to  it,  or  a  return  to  barbarism.  It  is 
a  question  in  which  every  citizen  of  the  nation  is  deeply  interested,  and 
with  respect  to  which  we  ought  not  to  be,  in  a  partisan  sense,  either 
Republicans  or  Democrats,  but  fellow  citizens  and  fellow  men,  to  whom 
the  interests  of  a  common  country  and  a  common  humanity  are  dear. 

The  sweeping  revolution  of  the  entire  labor  system  of  a  large  portion 
of  our  country,  and  the  advance  of  four  millions  of  people  from  a  condi 
tion  of  servitude  to  that  of  citizenship,  upon  an  equal  footing  with  their 
former  masters,  could  not  occur  without  presenting  problems  of  the 


8  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

gravest  moment,  to  be  dealt  with  by  the  emancipated  race,  by  their  for 
mer  masters,  and  by  the  general  Government,  the  author  of  the  act  of 
emancipation.  That  it  was  a  wise,  just,  and  Providential  act,  fraught 
with  good  for  all  concerned,  is  now  generally  conceded  throughout  the 
country.  That  a  moral  obligation  rests  upon  the  National  Government 
to  employ  its  constitutional  power  and  influence  to  establish  the  rights 
of  the  people  it  has  emancipated,  and  to  protect  them  in  the  enjoyment 
of  those  rights  when  they  are  infringed  or  assailed,  is  also  generally 
admitted. 

The  evils  which  afflict  the  Southern  States  can  only  be  removed  or 
remedied  by  the  united  and  harmonious  efforts  of  both  races,  actuated 
by  motives  of  mutual  sympathy  and  regard.  And  while  in  duty  bound 
and  fully  determined  to  protect  the  rights  of  all  by  every  constitutional 
means  at  the  disposal  of  my  Administration,  I  am  sincerely  anxious  to 
use  every  legitimate  influence  in  favor  of  honest  and  efficient  local  self- 
government  as  the  true  resource  of  those  States  for  the  promotion  of 
the  contentment  and  prosperity  of  their  citizens.  In  the  effort  I  shall 
make  to  accomplish  this  purpose  I  ask  the  cordial  cooperation  of  all  who 
cherish  an  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  country,  trusting  that  party  ties 
and  the  prejudice  of  race  will  be  freely  surrendered  in  behalf  of  the  great 
purpose  to  be  accomplished.  In  the  important  work  of  restoring  the 
South,  it  is  not  the  political  situation  alone  that  merits  attention.  The 
material  development  of  that  section  of  the  country  has  been  arrested 
by  the  social  and  political  revolution  through  which  it  has  passed,  and 
now  needs  and  deserves  the  considerate  care  of  the  National  Govern 
ment,  within  the  just  limits  prescribed  by  the  Constitution  and  wise 
public  economy. 

But,  at  the  basis  of  all  prosperity,  for  that  as  well  as  for  every  other 
part  of  the  country,  lies  the  improvement  of  the  intellectual  and  moral 
condition  of  the  people.  Universal  suffrage  should  rest  upon  universal 
education.  To  this  end,  liberal  and  permanent  provision  should  be  made 
for  the  support  of  free  schools  by  the  State  Governments,  and,  if  need 
be,  supplemented  by  legitimate  aid  from  national  authority. 

Let  me  assure  my  countrymen  of  the  Southern  States  that  it  is  my 
earnest  desire  to  regard  and  promote  their  truest  interests,  the  interests 
of  the  white  and  of  the  colored  people,  both  and  equally,  and  to  put 
forth  my  best  efforts  in  behalf  of  a  civil  policy  which  will  forever  wipe 
out  in  our  political  affairs  the  color  line,  and  the  distinction  between 
North  and  South,  to  the  end  that  we  may  have  not  merely  a  united 
North  or  a  united  South,  but  a  united  country. 

I  ask  the  attention  of  the  public  to  the  paramount  necessity  of  reform 
in  our  civil  service,  a  reform  not  merely  as  to  certain  abuses  and  prac 
tices  of  so-called  official  patronage,  which  have  come  to  have  the  sanc 
tion  of  usage  in  the  several  departments  of  our  Government,  but  a 
change  in  the  system  of  appointment  itself,  a  reform  that  shall  be  thor 
ough,  radical,  and  complete;  a  return  to  the  principles  and  practices  of 
the  founders  of  the  Government.  They  neither  expected  nor  desired 


INAUGURATION  AND  CABINET  9 

from  public  officers  any  partisan  service.  They  meant  that  public  offi 
cers  should  owe  their  whole  service  to  the  Government  and  to  the  people. 
They  meant  that  the  officer  should  be  secure  in  his  tenure  as  long  as  his 
personal  character  remained  untarnished,  and  the  performance  of  his 
duties  satisfactory.  They  held  that  appointments  to  office  were  not  to 
be  made  nor  expected  merely  as  rewards  for  partisan  services,  nor  merely 
on  the  nomination  of  members  of  Congress,  as  being  entitled  in  any 
respect  to  the  control  of  such  appointments. 

The  fact  that  both  the  great  political  parties  of  the  country,  in  de 
claring  their  principles  prior  to  the  election,  gave  a  prominent  place  to 
the  subject  of  reform  of  our  civil  service,  recognizing  and  strongly  urging 
its  necessity,  in  terms  almost  identical  in  their  specific  import  with  those 
I  have  here  employed,  must  be  accepted  as  a  conclusive  argument  in 
behalf  of  these  measures.  It  must  be  regarded  as  the  expression  of  the 
united  voice  and  will  of  the  whole  country  upon  this  subject,  and  both 
political  parties  are  virtually  pledged  to  give  it  their  unreserved  sup 
port. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  of  necessity  owes  his  election  to 
office  to  the  suffrage  and  zealous  labors  of  a  political  party,  the  members 
of  which  cherish  with  ardor,  and  regard  as  of  essential  importance,  the 
principles  of  their  party  organization.  But  he  should  strive  to  be  always 
mindful  of  the  fact  that  he  serves  his  party  best  who  serves  his  country 
best. 

In  furtherance  of  the  reform  we  seek,  and  in  other  important  respects 
a  change  of  great  importance,  I  recommend  an  amendment  to  the  Con 
stitution  prescribing  a  term  of  six  years  for  the  Presidential  office,  and 
forbidding  a  reelection. 

With  respect  to  the  financial  condition  of  the  country,  I  shall  not 
attempt  an  extended  history  of  the  embarrassment  and  prostration 
which  we  have  suffered  during  the  past  three  years.  The  depression 
in  all  our  varied  commercial  and  manufacturing  interests  throughout 
the  country,  which  began  in  September,  1873,  still  continues.  It  is  very 
gratifying,  however,  to  be  able  to  say  that  there  are  indications  all 
around  us  of  a  coming  change  to  prosperous  times. 

Upon  the  currency  question,  intimately  connected  as  it  is  with  this 
topic,  I  may  be  permitted  to  repeat  here  the  statement  made  in  my 
letter  of  acceptance,  that,  in  my  judgment,  the  feeling  of  uncertainty 
inseparable  from  an  irredeemable  paper  currency,  with  its  fluctuation 
of  values,  is  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  a  return  to  prosperous  times. 
The  only  safe  paper  currency  is  one  which  rests  upon  a  coin  basis,  and 
is  at  all  times  and  promptly  convertible  into  coin. 

I  adhere  to  the  views  heretofore  expressed  by  me  in  favor  of  con 
gressional  legislation  in  behalf  of  an  early  resumption  of  specie  pay 
ments,  and  I  am  satisfied  not  only  that  this  is  wise,  but  that  the  interests 
as  well  as  the  public  sentiment  of  the  country  imperatively  demand  it. 

Passing  from  these  remarks  upon  the  condition  of  our  own  country 
to  consider  our  relations  with  other  lands,  we  are  reminded  by  the 


10  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

international  complications  abroad,  threatening  the  peace  of  Europe, 
that  our  traditional  rule  of  non-interference  in  the  affairs  of  foreign 
nations  has  proved  of  great  value  in  past  times,  and  ought  to  be  strictly 
observed. 

The  policy  inaugurated  by  my  honored  predecessor,  President  Grant, 
of  submitting  to  arbitration  grave  questions  in  dispute  between  our 
selves  and  foreign  powers,  points  to  a  new  and  incomparably  the  best 
instrumentality  for  the  preservation  of  peace,  and  will,  as  I  believe, 
become  a  beneficent  example  of  the  course  to  be  pursued  in  similar 
emergencies  by  other  nations. 

If,  unhappily,  questions  of  difference  should  at  any  time  during  the 
period  of  my  Administration  arise  between  the  United  States  and  any 
foreign  Government,  it  will  certainly  be  my  disposition  and  my  hope 
to  aid  in  their  settlement  in  the  same  peaceful  and  honorable  way,  thus 
securing  to  our  country  the  great  blessings  of  peace  and  mutual  good 
offices  with  all  the  nations  of  the  world. 

Fellow  citizens,  we  have  reached  the  close  of  a  political  contest 
marked  by  the  excitement  which  usually  attends  the  contests  between 
great  political  parties,  whose  members  espouse  and  advocate  with 
earnest  faith  their  respective  creeds.  The  circumstances  were,  perhaps, 
in  no  respect  extraordinary,  save  in,  the  closeness  and  the  consequent 
uncertainty  of  the  result. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  country,  it  has  been  deemed 
best,  in  view  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  case,  that  the  objec 
tions  and  questions  in  dispute  with  reference  to  the  counting  of  the 
electoral  votes  should  be  referred  to  the  decision  of  a  tribunal  appointed 
for  this  purpose. 

That  tribunal  —  established  by  law  for  this  sole  purpose;  its  members, 
all  of  them,  men  of  long-established  reputation  for  integrity  and  intelli 
gence,  and,  with  the  exception  of  those  who  are  also  members  of  the 
Supreme  Judiciary,  chosen  equally  from  both  political  parties;  its  delib 
erations  —  enlightened  by  the  research  and  the  arguments  of  able 
counsel  —  was  entitled  to  the  fullest  confidence  of  the  American  people. 
Its  decisions  have  been  patiently  waited  for,  and  accepted  as  legally 
conclusive  by  the  general  judgment  of  the  public.  For  the  present, 
opinion  will  widely  vary  as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  several  conclusions 
announced  by  that  tribunal.  This  is  to  be  anticipated  in  every  instance 
where  matters  of  dispute  are  made  the  subject  of  arbitration  under 
the  forms  of  law.  Human  judgment  is  never  unerring,  and  is  rarely 
regarded  as  otherwise  than  wrong  by  the  unsuccessful  party  in  the 
contest. 

The  fact  that  two  great  political  parties  have  in  this  way  settled  a 
dispute,  in  regard  to  which  good  men  differ  as  to  the  facts  and  the  law, 
no  less  than  as  to  the  proper  course  to  be  pursued,  in  solving  the  ques 
tion  in  controversy,  is  an  occasion  for  general  rejoicing. 

Upon  one  point  there  is  entire  unanimity  in  public  sentiment,  that 
conflicting  claims  to  the  Presidency  must  be  amicably  and  peaceably 


INAUGURATION  AND  CABINET  n 

adjusted,  and  that  when  so  adjusted  the  general  acquiescence  of  the 
nation  ought  surely  to  follow. 

It  has  been  reserved  for  a  government  of  the  people,  where  the  right 
of  suffrage  is  universal,  to  give  to  the  world  the  first  example  in  his 
tory  of  a  great  nation,  in  the  midst  of  a  struggle  of  opposing  parties  for 
power,  hushing  its  party  tumults,  to  yield  the  issue  of  the  contest  to 
adjustment  according  to  the  forms  of  law. 

Looking  for  the  guidance  of  that  Divine  Hand  by  which  the  destinies 
of  nations  and  individuals  are  shaped,  I  call  upon  you,  Senators,  Rep 
resentatives,  Judges,  fellow  citizens,  here  and  everywhere,  to  unite  with 
me  in  an  earnest  effort  to  secure  to  our  country  the  blessings,  not  only  of 
material  prosperity,  but  of  justice,  peace,  and  union  —  a  Union  de 
pending  not  upon  the  constraint  of  force,  but  upon  the  loving  devotion 
of  a  free  people;  "and  that  all  things  may  be  so  ordered  and  settled 
upon  the  best  and  surest  foundations,  that  peace  and  happiness,  truth 
and  justice,  religion  and  piety,  may  be  established  among  us  for  all 
generations." 

The  address,  it  is  seen,  was  in  its  main  features  a  reaffirma- 
tion  and  reenforcement  of  the  views  presented  by  Mr.  Hayes  in 
his  letter  of  acceptance  on  the  three  topics  that  loomed  largest 
in  the  political  thought  of  the  period.  It  left  no  room  for  doubt 
in  the  minds  of  politicians  or  people  that  those  views  had  not 
been  expressed  simply  for  campaign  purposes,  now  to  be  ignored 
or  modified  in  the  interest  of  "practical  politics"  or  at  the  behest 
of  arrogant  party  leaders,  but  were  settled  convictions,  with  full 
implication  of  binding  obligation  to  seek  their  realization,  on 
the  part  of  the  new  President.  Throughout  the  campaign,  and 
through  all  the  period  of  doubt  and  acrimony  since  the  polls 
closed  on  November  7,  Mr.  Hayes  had  never  wavered  in  as 
serting  that  he  had  meant  all  that  his  letter  implied  in  regard 
to  his  attitude  and  purposes  toward  the  South.1  Now  in  his 

1  This  fact  is  evidenced  by  frequent  statements  in  his  letters  and  diary,  such 
as,  besides  those  already  given,  the  following  paragraphs  written  shortly  before 
leaving  Columbus:  — 

"The  indications  still  are  that  I  am  to  go  to  Washington.  I  talked  yesterday 
with  Fred  Douglass  and  Mr.  Poindexter,  both  colored,  on  the  Southern  question. 
I  told  them  my  views.  They  approved.  Mr.  Douglass  gave  me  many  useful 
hints  about  the  whole  subject.  My  course  is  a  firm  assertion  and  maintenance  of 
the  rights  of  the  colored  people  of  the  South  according  to  the  Thirteenth  and 
Fourteenth  Amendments,  coupled  with  a  readiness  to  recognize  all  Southern  peo 
ple,  without  regard  to  past  political  conduct,  who  will  now  go  with  me  heartily 
and  in  good  faith  in  support  of  these  principles."  (Diary,  February  18.) 

"  Yesterday  the  Commission  decided  Oregon  to  be  for  Hayes  and  Wheeler. 
This  is  the  last  of  the  disputed  and  doubtful  States.  The  only  apparent  chance  of 


12  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

address  he  repeated,  in  amplified  form  and  unequivocal  phrases, 
the  doctrine  he  had  hitherto  proclaimed.  The  distracted  condi 
tion  of  the  South  must  be  repaired.  "Wise,  honest,  and  peaceful 
self-government"  must  be  established;  but  "it  must  be  a  gov 
ernment  which  guards  the  interests  of  both  races  carefully  and 
equally";  a  government  "accepting  and  obeying  faithfully  the 
whole  Constitution  as  it  is."  True,  the  National  Government 
was  under  moral  obligation  to  exercise  its  constitutional  au 
thority  to  establish  and  protect  the  rights  of  the  emancipated 
negroes,  and  he  acknowledged  and  would  obey  the  compelling 
force  of  that  obligation;  but  he  was  "sincerely  anxious  to  use 
every  legitimate  means  in  favor  of  honest  and  efficient  local  self- 
government  as  the  true  resource  of  those  States  for  the  promo 
tion  of  the  contentment  and  prosperity  of  their  citizens."  To 
accomplish  this  purpose  he  invoked  the  cooperation  of  all  who  re 
garded  the  welfare  of  the  country.  Finally  he  gave  the  Southern 

defeating  us  now  is  the  revolutionary  conduct  of  the  Democrats  in  the  House. 
The  Southern  members  of  that  party,  who  have  hitherto  been  conservative  and 
favorable,  are  disturbed  by  an  article  in  the  Ohio  State  Journal  unfriendly  to 
them  which  is  charged  to  have  been  inspired  by  me.  The  truth  is  I  stand  on 
my  letter.  If  I  speak  at  Fremont  or  elsewhere  during  the  next  few  days  I  may 
say:  — 

"'My  letter  of  acceptance,  in  July  last,  expressed  what  I  thought  were  just 
sentiments  on  the  leading  questions  which  then  interested  the  country.  I  thought 
its  doctrines  were  sound  before  the  election;  I  think  they  are  sound  now  that  the 
election  is  over;  and  if  the  issue  pending  in  Congress  shall  be  decided  in  our  favor, 
these  principles  will  be  the  standard  by  which  my  official  conduct  shall  be  guided. 
If  I  were  to  write  that  letter  now,  I  would  give  that  part  on  the  Southern  question 
greater  emphasis.  The  great  body  of  the  people  of  this  country  earnestly  desire 
a  wise  and  just  settlement  of  that  question.  They  want  peace  —  they  long  for 
repose.  What  is  required  is:  — 

"'First,  that  for  the  protection  and  welfare  of  the  colored  people,  the  Thir 
teenth,  Fourteenth,  and  Fifteenth  Amendments  shall  be  sacredly  observed  and 
faithfully  enforced  according  to  their  true  intent  and  meaning. 

"'Second.  We  all  see  that  the  tremendous  revolution  which  has  passed  over 
the  Southern  people  has  left  them  impoverished  and  prostrate,  and  we  all  are 
deeply  solicitous  to  do  what  may  constitutionally  be  done  to  make  them  again 
prosperous  and  happy.  They  need  economy,  honesty,  and  intelligence  in  their 
local  governments.  They  need  to  have  such  a  policy  adopted  as  will  cause  sec 
tionalism  to  disappear,  and  that  will  tend  to  wipe  out  the  color  line.  They  need 
to  have  encouraged  immigration,  education,  and  every  description  of  legitimate 
business  and  industry.  We  do  not  want  a  united  North  nor  a  united  South.  We 
want  a  united  country.  And  if  the  great  trust  shall  be  devolved  upon  me,  I  fer 
vently  pray  that  the  Divine  Being,  who  holds  the  destinies  of  the  nations  in  his 
hands,  will  give  me  wisdom  to  perform  its  duties  so  as  to  promote  the  truest  and 
best  interests  of  the  whole  country.' "  (Diary,  February  25.) 


INAUGURATION  AND  CABINET  13 

people  ground  for  confidence  that  he  was  not  uttering  empty 
and  meaningless  phrases  by  this  emphatic  declaration :  — 

Let  me  assure  my  countrymen  of  the  Southern  States  that  it  is  my 
earnest  desire  to  regard  and  promote  their  truest  interests,  the  inter 
ests  of  the  white  and  of  the  colored  people,  both  and  equally,  and  to 
put  forth  my  best  efforts  in  behalf  of  a  civil  policy  which  will  forever 
wipe  out  in  our  political  affairs  the  color  line,  and  the  distinction  between 
North  and  South,  to  the  end  that  we  may  have,  not  merely  a  united 
North  or  a  united  South,  but  a  united  country. 

Equally  emphatic  was  his  insistence  on  the  importance  and 
need  of  civil  service  reform — "thorough,  radical,  and  com 
plete."  That  the  country  generally  recognized  this  need  and 
desired  its  fulfilment  was  evidenced  by  the  practically  identical 
demands  of  the  platforms  of  the  two  great  parties.  It  should  be 
remembered  that  "he  serves  his  party  best  who  serves  his  coun 
try  best"  —  a  phrase  whose  aptness  and  felicity  have  made  it 
one  of  the  permanent  political  maxims  of  the  race.1  To  aid  in 
obtaining  this  reform  and  in  making  it  secure,  he  recommended 
the  adoption  of  a  constitutional  amendment  providing  for  a 
Presidential  term  of  six  years  and  forbidding  reelection.  In  the 

1  "The  sentence  in  my  inaugural  message  which  has  been  often  quoted, 
namely, '  He  serves  his  party  best  who  serves  his  country  best,'  occurred  to  me  as 
I  was  walking  east  on  the  north  side  of  Broad  Street  in  Columbus  with  a  small 
party  of  friends  in  1877.  I  was  pondering  the  inaugural  address,  and  talking  of  it 
with,  I  think,  Rogers,  Dick  Anderson,  Denny  Rogers,  and  Mitchell,  —  perhaps, 
also,  General  Beatty.  We  were  going  from  my  residence  to  General  Mitchell's. 
'  Serve  your  party  by  serving  your  country ' ;  '  You  will  serve  your  party  if  you 
serve  your  country '; '  So  serving  our  country  is  the  best  way  to  serve  our  party'; 
are  among  the  forms  of  statement  that  occurred  to  me.  The  best  service  of  party 
is  service  to  the  country."  (Diary,  August  3,  1880.) 

This  apothegm  was  later  put  in  Latin  as  Qui  patriae  optime  servit  optime  servit 
suis  partibus.  The  Indianapolis  Journal  thought  it  found  a  clue  to  the  origin  or 
inspiration  of  the  maxim  in  Pope's  translation  of  the  tenth  book  of  Homer's  Iliad, 
where  Nestor  goes  through  the  camp  to  wake  up  the  captains,  and  arousing 
Diomed  says:  — 

"  Each  single  Greek,  in  this  conclusive  strife, 
Stands  on  the  sharpest  edge  of  death  or  life. 
Yet  if  my  years  thy  kind  regard  engage, 
Employ  thy  youth  as  I  employ  my  age ; 
Succeed  to  these  my  cares,  and  rouse  the  rest ; 
He  serves  me  most  who  serves  my  country  best." 

The  Journal  continued:  "The  similarity  of  the  last  line  to  the  celebrated  expres 
sion  used  by  President  Hayes  is  striking.  It  is  probable  he  was  at  some  period  of 
his  life  a  close  reader  of  the  Iliad,  and  that  this  expression  found  a  lodgment  in  his 
mind,  to  crop  out  in  a  slightly  modified  form  after  many  years.  This  supposition 
is  strengthened  by  his  allusion  to  '  Greeks  '  in  one  of  his  Southern  speeches." 


14  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

light  of  the  repeated  experiences  of  recent  years,  of  the  perni 
cious  activity  of  placemen  to  manipulate  primaries  and  control 
conventions  in  the  interest  of  the  renomination  of  the  Presi 
dent,  —  permitted,  sanctioned,  or  connived  at  by  the  Execu 
tive;  in  the  light  of  the  undignified,  if  not  scandalous  and 
demoralizing  performances  of  eagerly  ambitious  Presidential 
aspirants,  what  sober-minded  patriot  but  must  deeply  deplore 
the  fact  that  President  Hayes's  wise  proposal  failed  of  consum 
mation? 

Further,  he  briefly  but  earnestly  declared  his  continued  adher 
ence  to  his  well-known  views  on  the  subject  of  the  currency.  He 
made  it  clear  that  so  far  as  he  was  concerned  there  should  be 
no  relaxation  of  effort  to  bring  about  "an  early  resumption  of 
specie  payment,"  being  "satisfied  not  only  that  this  is  wise, 
but  that  the  interests  as  well  as  the  sentiment  of  the  country 
imperatively  demand  it." 

He  rejoiced  that  this  country,  under  his  predecessor,  had  set 
the  world  the  beneficent  example  of  submitting  grave  questions 
of  international  dispute  to  peaceful  adjudication  by  arbitration, 
and  he  announced  his  purpose  to  follow  this  method  should 
occasion  arise  in  his  Administration.  And  in  language  of  judi 
cial  sobriety  and  perfect  good  taste  he  spoke  of  the  electoral 
contest  and  the  mode  of  its  decision,  declaring:  "The  fact  that 
two  great  political  parties  have  in  this  way  settled  a  dispute,  in 
regard  to  which  good  men  differ  as  to  the  facts  and  the  law,  no 
less  than  as  to  the  proper  course  to  be  pursued,  in  solving  the 
question  in  controversy,  is  an  occasion  for  general  rejoicing." 
This  was  something  new  in  the  history  of  the  world's  political 
crises.  His  peroration  acknowledged  dependence  on  Divine 
guidance  and  ended  with  an  impressive  appeal  to  all  men  in 
authority  and  to  all  citizens  to  aid  in  making  the  country  "a 
Union  depending  not  upon  the  constraint  of  force,  but  upon  the 
loving  devotion  of  a  free  people." 

Examination  of  a  vast  number  of  editorial  expressions  of  the 
day,  as  well  as  of  innumerable  letters  and  dispatches  to  the 
President,  shows  that  the  inaugural  address  made  an  altogether 
favorable  and  reassuring  impression  upon  the  judicious  public 
sentiment.  Naturally  the  bitterly  disappointed  Democratic 
journals,  still  smarting  from  the  frustration  of  their  hopes, 


INAUGURATION  AND  CABINET  15 

indulged  in  carping  criticism  and  emotional  disapproval.  But 
the  more  sensible  and  sober  Southern  papers,  while  suspending 
judgment  on  the  President's  conciliatory  expressions  toward  the 
South  until  these  had  found  interpretation  in  deeds,  recognized 
and  applauded  the  kindliness  of  spirit  which  animated  his  words 
and  waited  in  hope  for  their  fulfilment.  The  dominant  note  of 
conservative  opinion  was  concisely  indicated  by  the  Nation,1 
which  said:  "The  address  is  a  clear,  modest,  and  sensible  docu 
ment,  which  promises  nothing  which  reasonable  men  may  not 
hope  to  see  performed,  and  leaves  nothing  untouched  of  which 
mention  was  desirable." 

But  the  more  radical  "elder  statesmen"  of  the  Senate  were 
by  no  means  pleased  with  the  tone  of  the  address,  either  as  it 
related  to  the  South  or  to  civil  service  reform.  In  the  campaign 
they  had  quietly  ignored  Mr.  Hayes's  assurances  on  these  topics 
as  the  harmless  vagaries  of  an  unskilled  candidate,  well  calcu 
lated  perhaps  to  tickle  the  ears  of  troublesome  and  visionary 
Pharisees  and  reformers,  but  assuredly  not  to  be  permitted  to 
interfere  with  their  purposes  and  perquisites.  Did  not  they  — 
experienced  and  practical  men  (especially  practical)  —  know 
what  was  best  for  the  South,  and  the  country,  and  the  party? 
Did  not  they  know  what  their  rights  and  prerogatives,  by  long 
assumption  and  prescription,  were  in  the  disposition  of  the  spoils 
of  office?  Were  they  not  to  be  consulted  and  appeased  and 
deferred  to  in  the  formation  of  the  Cabinet,  disconcerting  and 
well-authenticated  reports  of  the  composition  of  which  were  al 
ready  abroad?  What  sort  of  man  was  this  who  had  the  temerity 
to  propose  to  shape  his  administrative  policy  and  to  select  his 
advisers,  albeit  in  strict  conformity  with  the  party's  declared 

1  Issue  of  March  8,  1877.  —  Compare:  "There  have  been  few  inaugural  ad 
dresses  superior  to  that  of  President  Hayes  in  mingled  wisdom,  force,  and  modera 
tion  of  statement.  And  it  is  one  of  the  happy  facts  of  the  occasion  that  the  fiery 
partisan  contest  of  the  last  nine  months  ends  in  the  accession  of  a  President 
whose  first  words  tend  to  allay  fury  and  placate  passion.  .  .  .  The  general  policy 
indicated  ...  is  unquestionably  that  which  is  approved  by  the  intelligence  and 
patriotism  of  the  whole  country."  (George  William  Curtis  in  Harper's  Weekly, 
March  24,  1877.)  The  impression  made  abroad  was  equally  favorable.  Writing 
to  the  President,  March  10,  from  London,  the  American  Minister,  Edwards 
Pierrepont,  said:  "No  message  of  a  President  to  the  people  has  ever  been  re 
ceived  with  such  universal  favor  on  this  side  the  Atlantic  as  the  late  inaugural. 
It  seems  the  harbinger  of  peace  and  union  and  prosperity  in  the  future." 


16  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

mandate  and  his  own  avowed  principles,  without  seeking  their 
advice  and  yielding  to  their  admonition?  Surely  he  must  be 
taken  in  hand  at  once  and  made  to  understand  that  the  wise 
party  leaders  of  the  Senate  were  the  real  power  in  the  state, 
which  he  could  not  safely  refuse  to  take  into  account. 

Mr.  Elaine,  aggrieved  and  indignant  because  he  was  not  al 
lowed  to  name  a  member  of  the  Cabinet,  rashly  assumed  the 
leadership  of  the  refractory  coterie.  In  the  Senate,  on  March 
6,  he  plunged  precipitately  into  the  arena  and  waved  the  flag 
of  opposition  and  revolt,  thinking  evidently  to  put  himself  at 
the  head  of  his  party  in  the  Senate  by  voicing  what  he  blindly 
assumed  would  be  the  controlling  Republican  sentiment  of  the 
country.  "In  a  confident  and  aggressive  manner,  which  re 
called  his  former  exploits  of  dashing  leadership  in  the  House," 
as  one  newspaper  correspondent  of  the  day  put  it,1  he  made 
the  speech  which  he  delivered  in  favor  of  seating  ex-Governor 
Kellogg,  of  Louisiana,  elected  by  the  Packard  Legislature,  the 
occasion  of  virtually  defying  the  President  to  carry  out  what  was 
believed  to  be  his  contemplated  policy  in  relation  to  Louisiana. 
At  the  end  of  his  blustering  pronouncement  the  Senate  ad 
journed;  Kellogg  and  the  carpetbag  Senators  rushed  to  him  with 
effusive  congratulations;  but  the  more  moderate  members  were 
dismayed  at  what  they  interpreted  as  a  declaration  of  war  in 
case  the  President  adhered  to  the  purpose  foreshadowed  in  his 
inaugural  address.  Shrewd  observers  of  the  day  did  not  credit 
Mr.  Elaine  with  sincerely  patriotic  motives  in  his  attack;  rather 
they  traced  it  to  offended  self-esteem  and  to  the  hope  that  by 
his  sensational  aggressiveness  he  could  still  force  the  President 
to  regard  his  wishes  in  making  up  the  Cabinet.2 

Swayed  by  similar  feelings  that  their  high  standing  and  im 
portance  were  being  slighted  by  the  President  in  selecting  his 
constitutional  advisers,  Senators  Conkling  and  Cameron  were 
known  to  be  in  anything  but  an  amiable  mood.  How  dared 
the  President  ignore  their  "claims"  and  deny  their  solicitation? 

1  New  York  Tribune,  March  7. 

8  "The  speech  made  by  Mr.  Blaine  was  evidently  prepared  with  careful  pur 
pose,  and  great  pains  were  taken  to  give  it  wide  circulation,  verbatim  copies  hav 
ing  been  freely  furnished  to  the  newspapers.  The  purpose  is  believed  to  be  to 
scare  President  Hayes  into  appointing  Mr.  Frye  to  the  Cabinet."  (Washington 
correspondence  New  York  Times,  March  7.) 


INAUGURATION  AND  CABINET  17 

What  assurance  could  they  have  that  their  overlordship  of  the 
Federal  offices  in  their  States  could  be  maintained  in  the  glory 
that  had  been  theirs  if  they  could  not  each  name  a  member  of 
the  Cabinet,  and  if  fantastic  notions  of  civil  service  reform  were 
actually  to  prevail?  l  While  these  three  Senators  were  the  most 
conspicuous  and  outspoken  in  complaint  and  criticism,  many 
others  more  or  less  openly  approved  of  their  course  and  were 
inclined  to  make  common  cause  with  them. 

Meanwhile,  unswayed  by  the  murmurs  of  displeasure  of  the 
"elder  statesmen,"  and  beset  as  he  was  by  innumerable  callers, 
Mr.  Hayes  was  deliberately  completing  his  Cabinet.  For  many 
weeks  before  leaving  Columbus  his  mind  had  been  busy  with 
this  important  problem,  and  already  when  he  reached  Washing 
ton  he  had  practically  decided  upon  all  but  two  or  three  names. 
In  coming  to  his  conclusions  he  had  freely  counselled  with  the 
political  friends  whose  judgment  he  most  highly  respected  — 
Mr.  Wheeler,  Senator  Sherman,  Mr.  Schurz,  General  Cox, 
William  Henry  Smith,  Judge  Force,  and  many  others;  had 
solicitously  sought  information  from  trusted  correspondents  re 
garding  men  under  tentative  consideration,  and  had  sedulously 
weighed  the  suggestions  made  by  friendly  journals  or  contained 
in  the  unsolicited  letters  of  advice  which  came  to  him  by  scores 
from  every  part  of  the  country.  The  first  detailed  reference 
to  the  subject  in  the  diary  was  January  17,  when  Mr.  Hayes 
wrote :  — 

On  the  subject  of  Cabinet,  I  have  talked  with  Mr.  Wheeler,  General 
Cox,  General  Buckland,  and  a  few  others.  I  am  inclined  to  say  that  I 
must  not  take  either  of  the  leading  competitors  for  the  Presidential 
nomination,  nor  any  "member  of  the  present  Cabinet.  My  thoughts  rest 
on  Evarts  for  the  first  place.  On  Governor  Rice  or  Forbes,  of  Massachu 
setts,  or  Sherman  for  Treasury;  on  General  Harlan,  of  Kentucky,  for 
Attorney-General.  I  think  well  of  General  Harrison,  of  Indiana,  and 
Settle,  of  North  Carolina,  for  places.  Governor  Hartranft  has  a  Demo 
cratic  Lieu  tenant-Governor,  or  he  might  be  favorably  considered.  Mc- 
Crary,  of  Iowa,  for  a  place.  Booth,  of  California  (but  his  seat  in  the 
Senate  would  be  filled  by  a  Democrat) . 

February  17,  after  a  month  of  deliberation,  Mr.  Hayes 
wrote :  — 

1  "Snivel  serrice  reform,"  Mr.  Conkling  once  sneeringly  called  it. 


18  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

Last  evening  Louisiana  was  decided  by  the  Commission  in  our  favor. 
There  is  still  some  doubt,  but  apparently  very  little,  of  the  result.  The 
inaugural  and  Cabinet-making  are  now  in  order.  I  would  like  to  get 
support  from  good  men  of  the  South  —  late  Rebels.  How  to  do  it  is  the 
question.  I  have  the  best  disposition  toward  the  Southern  people  — 
Rebels  and  all.  I  could  appoint  a  Southern  Democrat  in  the  Cabinet. 
But  who  would  take  it  among  the  capable  and  influential  good  men  of 
those  States?  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  occurs  to  me.  I  must  think 
of  this. 

Two  days  later  he  recorded  definitely  the  principles  that  should 
be  observed  in  selecting  his  advisers :  — 

1.  A  new  Cabinet  —  no  member  of  the  present. 

2.  No  Presidential  candidates. 

3.  No  appointment  to  "take  care"  of  anybody. 

These  principles,  once  established  after  due  reflection  in  his 
thought,  yielded  hereafter  to  no  pressure  or  compromise,  how 
ever  urgent  or  plausible  the  solicitation  that  influential  party 
leaders  employed  in  the  effort  to  break  their  force. 

Mr.  Hayes  had  felt  some  delicacy  about  formally  asking  men 
to  enter  his  Cabinet  while  doubt  of  the  outcome  of  the  electoral 
controversy  still  existed.  But  the  decision  in  the  Louisiana  case, 
he  felt,  practically  settled  the  question,  so  that  there  could  be 
no  possible  impropriety  in  now  declaring  his  wishes.  The  first 
man  invited  to  join  his  official  family  was  Senator  Sherman,  to 
whom  he  addressed  the  following  letter :  1  — 

Confidential.  COLUMBUS,  OHIO,  19  February,  1877. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  The  more  I  think  of  it,  the  more  difficult  it  seems  for 
me  to  get  ready  to  come  to  Washington  before  Wednesday  or  Thursday 
of  next  week.  I  must  fix  affairs  at  Fremont,  and  can't  begin  it  until  I 
know  the  result.  Why  can't  friends  be  sent  or  come  here? 

It  seems  to  me  proper  now  to  say  that  I  am  extremely  desirous  that 
you  should  take  the  Treasury  Department.  Aside  from  my  own  per 
sonal  preference,  there  are  many  and  controlling  reasons  why  I  should 
ask  you  to  do  this.  It  will  satisfy  friends  here  in  Ohio.  I  understand 
Governor  Morton  and  our  friends  in  Washington  like  it.  The  country 
will  approve  it.  You  are  by  all  odds  the  best  fitted  for  it  of  any  man  in 
the  nation.  Your  resignation  from  the  Senate  will  be  a  great  loss  to  that 
body,  but  it  will  cause  no  serious  dissensions  or  difficulties  in  Ohio.  Do 
not  say  no  until  I  have  had  a  full  conference  with  you.  There  is  no 

1  Mr.  Sherman  (Recollections,  vol.  I,  chap,  xxvm)  says  that  previously  to 
this  letter  "President  Hayes  frequently,  in  personarconversation  and  in  writing, 
had  expressed  a  strong  desire  that  I  should  become  his  Secretary  of  the  Treasury." 


INAUGURATION  AND  CABINET  19 

reason  why  you  should  not  visit  Ohio  as  soon  as  you  can  be  spared  from 
Washington.  Of  course  the  public  will  know  of  our  meeting.  But  they 
will  be  gratified  to  know  it.  No  possible  harm  can  come  of  it.  I  should 
have  said  all  this  before,  but  I  did  not  want  to  embarrass  you  in  your 
action  on  Presidential  questions.  —  Sincerely, 

R.  B.  HAYES. 
HON.  JOHN  SHERMAN. 

Mr.  Sherman  at  once  visited  Columbus,  and  becoming  assured 
that  his  resignation  from  the  Senate  would  create  no  political 
embarrassment  in  Ohio,  he  accepted  the  offer.  Mr.  Hayes  com 
missioned  him  to  confer  with  Mr.  Evarts  regarding  the  port 
folio  of  the  State  Department,  he  himself  being  reluctant  to 
communicate  directly  with  him  until  the  Electoral  Commission, 
before  which  Mr.  Evarts  was  the  chief  counsel  for  the  Republi 
can  party,  had  completed  its  labors. 

A  few  days  later  Mr.  Hayes  wrote  Mr.  Schurz  as  follows:  — 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT, 

STATE  OF  OHIO, 
COLUMBUS,  25  February,  1877. 

MY  DEAR  GENERAL,  —  I  am  just  about  to  start  for  Fremont  to  stay 
over  Sunday.  I  write  hastily  to  return  the  enclosed  letters,  and  to  say  a 
few  words.  I  do  not,  or  have  not,  desired  to  be  committed  on  Cabinet 
appointments  until  the  issue  was  reached.  But  it  is  perhaps  proper  to 
say  that,  if  elected,  it  has  for  a  long  time  been  my  wish  to  invite  you  to 
take  a  place  in  the  Cabinet.  I  think  it  would  be  fortunate  for  the  coun 
try,  and  especially  so  for  myself  if  you  are  one  of  the  members  of  the 
Cabinet.  I  am  not  likely  to  change  that  opinion.  The  Interior  Depart 
ment  is  my  preference  for  you.  The  Post-Office  would  come  next.  For 
State  I  hope  to  have  Mr.  Evarts,  but  have  not  consulted  him.  Mr. 
Sherman  will  probably  take  the  Treasury.  If  nothing  occurs  to  change 
my  plans  I  expect  to  go  to  Washington  about  Thursday  next.  All 
this  is  on  the  supposition  that  we  are  successful,  and  is  to  be  strictly 
confidential.  —  Sincerely, 

R.  B.  HAYES. 

GENERAL  C.  SCHURZ. 

A  favorable  response  1  came  by  return  mail  to  which  Mr. 
Hayes  replied :  — 

1  "I  shall  not  try  to  conceal  from  you  that  the  terms  in  which  you  invite  me  to 
become  a  member  of  your  Cabinet  are  exceedingly  gratifying  to  my  feelings. 
Even  if  the  expressions  of  friendly  sentiment  in  your  note  were  not  accompanied 
by  an  offer  of  high  official  honor  and  of  an  opportunity  to  render  some  service  to 
the  country,  I  should  most  highly  prize  them  as  a  mark  of  the  confidence  of  a 
man  whom  I  esteem  so  sincerely  and  whose  personal  friendship  I  shall  ever  cherish 


20  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT, 

STATE  OF    OHIO, 
COLUMBUS,  27  February,  1877. 

MY  DEAR  GENERAL,  —  I  am  very  glad  to  get  your  note  of  yesterday. 
Your  choice  of  Department  is  also  my  choice  for  you.  I  should  be  de 
lighted  to  have  you  go  with  us  to  Washington  if  we  are  declared  elected 
before  we  start.  But  I  do  not  want  my  selection  of  Cabinet  advisers 
known  until  that  result  is  announced.  I  will  dispatch  you  as  to  train. 
In  case  of  a  favorable  decision  Wednesday,  we  start  about  noon  Thurs 
day.  If  no  favorable  decision  is  reached  Wednesday,  we  do  not  start 
until  in  the  night  of  Thursday.  My  idea  is  to  leave  undecided,  or  rather 
uncommitted,  some  places  until  I  reach  Washington.  Say  War,  Navy, 
and  Postmaster-General.  I  write  in  the  midst  of  interruptions  —  pro- 
vokingly  so.  —  Sincerely, 

R.  B.  HAYES. 

GENERAL  CARL  SCHURZ. 

Mr.  Hayes  reluctantly  gave  up  his  idea  of  appointing  General 
Joseph  E.  Johnston  Secretary  of  War.  His  thought  was  that  no 
single  act  within  his  power  would  so  effectually  prove  his  good 
will  toward  the  South,  and  show  to  the  country  and  the  world 
how  fully  the  Civil  War  was  a  thing  of  the  past  and  how  com 
plete  was  the  confidence  of  the  American  people  in  the  restored 
Union,  as  the  presence  in  the  Cabinet  of  this  distinguished  and 
conspicuously  able  and  popular  Confederate  commander.  Gen 
eral  Sherman,  then  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  army,  to 
whom  General  Johnston  had  surrendered  twelve  years  before, 
had  no  personal  objection  to  the  appointment,  but  was  sure  that 
it  would  be  resented  by  the  old  soldiers  and  by  people  generally.1 
Consultation  with  political  friends  also  convinced  Mr.  Hayes, 
to  his  regret,  that  the  public  opinion  of  the  North  had  not  yet 
attained  the  state  of  magnanimity  to  bear  patiently  with  so  bold 

and  be  proud  of.  That  confidence  and  friendship  it  will  always  be  my  endeavor 
to  deserve  and  thus  to  show  my  gratitude  by  something  better  than  words." 
(Letter  of  Carl  Schurz,  February  26.) 

1  "I  have  conversed  with  General  Sherman.  He  gives  an  excellent  account  of 
General  Joe  Johnston,  his  habits,  character,  and  associations,  and  he  thinks  his 
personal  merits  may  surely  be  recognized  by  appointment  as  Marshal  of  Virginia 
or  some  similar  position;  but  he  is  of  the  opinion  that  his  designation  to  a  Cabinet 
office  would  not  be  wise.  The  only  place  in  the  Cabinet  for  which  he  is  fitted  is 
that  of  Secretary  of  War,  and  that  would  be  distasteful  to  the  ex-soldiers  of  the 
Union  army  and  to  the  public.  Personally,  he  says,  he  could  get  along  well  with 
Johnston;  but  it  encounters  the  same  feeling  as  Banning's  proposal  to  open  the 
army  to  ex-Rebel  officers."  (Letter  to  Mr.  Hayes  from  John  Sherman,  dated 
Washington  February  25.) 


INAUGURATION  AND  CABINET  21 

and  generous  an  action.1  Mr.  Hayes,  however,  did  not  abandon 
his  purpose  to  place  a  genuine  Southern  man  in  his  Cabinet. 
Many  names  were  considered,  but  his  choice  finally  fell  upon 
David  M.  Key,  of  Tennessee,  whose  term  as  Senator  —  he 
having  been  appointed  by  the  Governor  on  the  death  of  Andrew 
Johnson  —  expired  March  4.  He  was  a  lifelong  Democrat;  had 
served  with  distinction  in  the  Confederate  army;  but  since  the 
war  had  accepted  fully  the  new  conditions  and  during  the  elec 
toral  dispute  had  been  notably  temperate  in  speech  and  in 
advocating  reasonable  action.  He  was  named  for  Postmaster- 
General.2 

1  "Governor  Hayes  asked  me  what  Senator  Morton  would  think  of  the 
appointment  of  Joe  Johnston  as  Secretary  of  War.  I  replied,  'Great  God! 
Governor,  I  hope  you  are  not  thinking  of  doing  anything  of  that  kind !' "  (Colonel 
W.  R.  Holloway,  MS.  report  of  visit  to  Columbus.) 

U.S.  SENATE  CHAMBER,  WASHINGTON, 

3  March,  1877. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  PRESIDENT,  —  I  have  had  an  hour  to  reflect  on  the  suggestion 
you  made  to  me  in  regard  to  the  War  Department;  and  I  cannot  refrain  from 
expressing  my  views  very  frankly. 

1  think  it  would  burden  your  Administration  needlessly  and  gratuitously  from 
the  very  outset  with  a  thousand  enmities  and  animosities  —  the  extent  and  exist 
ence  of  which  you  may  not  have  fully  measured,  but  which  are  bitter  and  unre 
lenting.     Indeed,  to  be  brief,  it  seems  to  me  to  have  every  hearty  condemnation 
adverse  to  it,  and  not  one  in  its  favor.   It  would  be  infra  dig.,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  out r£  and  extraordinary,  on  the  other,  and  would  harm  everybody  and  help 
nobody. 

,'•  You  did  me  the  honor  to  ask  my  advice.  I  give  it  thus  frankly  with  no 
consideration  but  one  of  anxiety  for  the  success  and  prosperity  of  your  Admin 
istration.  —  Sincerely, 

J.  G.  BLAINE. 

2  Mr.  Hayes  had  received  many  assurances  from  public  men  of  Mr.  Key's 
character  and  worth,  and  these  he  was  confident  were  well  founded,  when  a  letter 
written  by  Mr.  Key,  February  16,  to  a  personal  friend  was  placed  in  his  hands. 
Mr.  Key  wrote:  — 

"  I  am  ready  to  do  all  I  can  to  restore  confidence  and  good  government  to  the 
people  of  the  South.  This  can  only  be  done  by  a  hearty  fraternization  of  the  sec 
tions,  for  which  I  have  labored.  If,  without  requiring  of  me  the  sacrifice  of  any 
personal  or  political  independence,  you  find  that  my  name  can  be  used  for  the 
good  of  the  South,  in  your  best  judgment,  you  are  at  liberty  to  use  it.  If  I  were  to 
become  a  member  of  an  Administration  I  should  not  feel  at  liberty  to  place  my 
self  in  opposition  to  its  general  policy,  but  should  feel  bound  to  build  it  up  and 
strengthen  it  in  the  hearts  of  the  people;  and  if  the  time  arrived  when  I  could  not 
heartily  cooperate  with  it,  I  should  resign.  As  matters  are  in  the  South  I  should 
be  more  useful  to  our  people  in  an  independent  position,  and  if,  as  I  hope  and 
believe,  the  Administration  will  develop  a  broad  and  liberal  policy  toward  the 
people  of  the  South,  I  would  not  hesitate  to  incorporate  my  fortunes  and  self 
with  it." 


22  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

Final  decision  in  this  case  was  declared  after  Mr.  Hayes 
reached  Washington.  The  same  thing  is  true  also  of  the  De 
partments  of  War  and  Navy  and  the  Attorney-Generalship, 
though  George  W.  McCrary,  of  Iowa,  had  been  definitely  de 
termined  on  for  one  of  these  positions.  After  his  arrival  at  Wash 
ington  Mr.  Hayes  offered  a  seat  in  the  Cabinet  to  Eugene  Hale, 
an  able  member  of  Congress  from  Maine,  who  was  the  son-in-law 
of  Zachariah  Chandler.  Mr.  Hale  declined  the  offer;  whereupon 
Mr.  Elaine  insisted  on  the  appointment  of  William  P.  Frye, 
also  a  Congressman  from  Maine,  and  a  man  whose  ability  was 
beyond  dispute.  But  Mr.  Hayes  firmly  refused  to  allow  Mr. 
Blaine  to  dictate  a  Cabinet  appointment,  thus  provoking  the 
wrath  and  resentment  of  that  powerful  leader,  who,  as  already 
related,  at  once  sought  to  arouse  opposition  to  the  President 
among  the  Republicans  of  the  Senate.  Senator  Cameron  also 
was  equally  insistent  that  his  son,  Don  Cameron,  should  be 
retained  as  Secretary  of  War.  But  that  was  out  of  the  question 
if  "a  new  Cabinet"  was  to  be  formed,  and  to  that  rule  no  ex 
ception  could  be  made  —  even  had  Don  Cameron  been  the  kind 
of  man  to  ornament  a  reform  Cabinet  —  without  reflecting  on 
other  and  worthier  members  of  General  Grant's  Cabinet  whom 
other  party  leaders  desired  to  see  continued  in  place.  So  Senator 
Cameron,  long  in  undisputed  control  of  Pennsylvania  Republi 
canism,  assumed  an  air  of  injured  dignity  and  breathed  out 
threatenings  and  slaughter.  Friends  of  General  Logan,  who  had 
recently  failed  of  reelection  to  the  Senate,  pertinaciously  urged 
his  appointment,  all  unconscious  apparently  of  how  discordant 
an  element  his  narrow  and  flaming  partisanship  and  his  low 
ideals  of  political  effort  would  introduce  into  a  Cabinet  which 
was  to  reflect  and  enforce  the  reform  principles  which  Mr. 
Hayes  had  avowed.  So  these  champions  were  likewise  dissatis 
fied  and  ready  to  stir  up  trouble. 

After  the  declination  of  Mr.  Hale,  Mr.  Hayes  promptly  de 
cided  upon  Judge  Charles  Devens,  of  the  Massachusetts  Su 
preme  Court,  who  was  warmly  recommended  by  Senator  Hoar 
and  Vice-President  Wheeler,  to  be  the  New  England  representa 
tive  in  the  Cabinet,  naming  him  for  Attorney-General.  There 
upon  Mr.  McCrary,  who  had  been  thought  of  for  that  place,  was 
assigned  to  the  War  Department,  and  only  the  Navy  Department 


INAUGURATION  AND  CABINET  23 

remained  to  be  filled.  For  that  position  (or  some  other  in  the 
Cabinet)  he  desired,  from  his  high  regard  for  Senator  Morton 
and  his  admiration  for  his  political  sagacity  and  patriotism,  — 
though  disapproving  of  his  vacillation  on  the  money  question 
and  not  sympathizing  with  his  extreme  views  regarding  the 
South,  —  to  find  a  suitable  man  in  Indiana.  His  first  thought 
was  of  General  Harrison,  who,  coming  into  the  state  contest 
at  the  eleventh  hour,  when  Godlove  S.  Orth,  candidate  for  Gov 
ernor,  had  been  forced  off  the  ticket,  had  made  a  gallant  though 
unsuccessful  campaign  to  win  Indiana  to  the  Republican  cause. 
But  General  Harrison,  for  one  reason  or  another,  had  incurred 
the  hostility  of  Senator  Morton,1  and  so  his  name  was  dropped 
and  many  others  were  canvassed.  Finally  the  choice  narrowed 
down  to  John  W.  Foster,  at  that  time  Minister  to  Mexico,  and 
Richard  W.  Thompson,  famous  since  1840  for  his  political  ora 
tory,2  who  had  placed  Morton  in  nomination  at  Cincinnati.  Of 
these  two  Mr.  Hayes  was  inclined  to  prefer  General  Foster,  the 
younger,  abler,  and  more  active  man.  But  as  it  would  take  so 
long  for  him  to  reach  Washington,  and  as  it  was  desirable  that 
all  members  of  the  Cabinet  should  be  installed  at  once,  Colonel 
Thompson  won  the  distinction. 

The  names  of  the  men  designated  for  the  principal  places  in 
the  Cabinet  were  known  in  Washington  on  the  day  of  the  in 
auguration  and  were  telegraphed  to  the  papers  throughout  the 
country.  The  names  of  all  the  others,  though  without  correct 
assignment  of  their  portfolios,  were  known  the  following  day. 
They  clearly  reflected  and  emphasized  the  conciliatory  and 
reform  assurances  of  the  inaugural  address,  and  they  had 

1  Colonel  W.  R.  Holloway,  brother  in-law  and  confidant  of  Senator  Morton,  is 
authority  for  the  statement  that  Morton's  antipathy  was  due  to  the  fact  "  that 
during  the  pending  of  the  Electoral  Commission  Bill  in  the  Senate,  a  dispatch  was 
sent  to  Senator  Conkling,  signed  by  Harrison,  Gresham,  and  a  half-dozen  other 
prominent  Republicans  of  Indianapolis,  urging  the  passage  of  the  bill.   This  dis 
patch  was  read  in  the  Senate  by  Senator  Conkling  with  a  great  flourish  of  trum 
pets  to  show  that  Morton  did  not  represent  the  Republicans  of  Indiana  in  oppos 
ing  the  Commission  Bill.  .  .  .   After  that  Morton  left  Harrison  severely  alone." 

2  Colonel  W.  R.  Holloway  visited  Columbus  at  Senator  Morton's  request  to 
discuss  Indiana  men  with  Mr.  Hayes.  In  a  manuscript  account  of  the  conference 
Colonel  Holloway  says:  "He  [Hayes]  said  he  remembered  having  heard  Thomp 
son  make  a  speech  in  1840  and  he  still  remembered  the  clear  and  bell-like  tones  of 
his  voice.   I  told  him  that  his  voice  had  not  failed  a  particle  and  that  he  was  still 
good  for  a  three  hours'  speech  any  day  or  night  without  previous  notice." 


24  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

manifestly  been  chosen  without  humble  deference  to  the  influ 
ences  that  had  long  been  controlling  Republican  destinies  in 
the  Senate.  Consequently,  as  already  indicated,  both  they  and  the 
manner  of  their  selection  were  mightily  displeasing  to  the  "elder 
statesmen,"  who  in  their  desperation  and  resentment  were  pre 
pared  to  go  the  length  of  refusing  confirmation.  The  particular 
grievances  of  Senators  Elaine  and  Cameron  and  of  General 
Logan  have  already  been  set  out.  Senator  Conkling's  chagrin 
was  due  not  only  to  his  antipathy  to  Mr.  Evarts,  whom  the 
public  sentiment  of  the  country  for  weeks  had  recognized  as  the 
man  of  all  others  to  be  Secretary  of  State,1  but  to  the  fact  that 
choice  of  Mr.  Evarts  had  been  made  without  seeking  his  advice 
(for  he  arrogantly,  though  no  doubt  sincerely,  believed  that  he 
was  entitled  to  be  sole  and  supreme  dictator  of  all  things  Re 
publican  in  New  York  State,)2  and  to  the  further  fact  that  he 

I  ardently  desired  a  place  in  the  Cabinet  for  his  most  trusted 

'  political  lieutenant,  Thomas  C.  Platt. 

The  opposition  to  the  proposed  selections  for  the  Cabinet 
centred  especially  on  Messrs.  Evarts,  Schurz,  and  Key.  On 
Mr.  Evarts  mainly,  it  would  seem,  because  he  was  disliked  by 
Mr.  Conkling  and  because  he  had  not  been  active  in  party 
politics.3  Many  objections  were  urged  against  Mr.  Schurz.  He 
had  not  been  consistently  "regular"  in  party  fealty;  he  had  been 
foremost  in  condemning  President  Grant's  Administration;  had 
been  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  men  in  the  Liberal  Republican 

1  *'  For  many  weeks  before  there  was  any  evidence  that  Mr.  Hayes  intended  to 
offer  Mr.  Evarts  a  place  in  the  Cabinet,  public  opinion  had  designated  him  for 
Secretary  of  State  with  a  unanimity  which  betokened  universal  recognition  of  his 
claims  on  the  score  of  merit  and  qualification."   (Editorial,  New  York  Herald, 
March  7.) 

2  "Conkling  was  so  swallowed  up  in  his  own  egotism  that  the  whole  world 
around  him  was  unseen.  True  to  his  own  desires  meant  fidelity  to  party,  to  duty, 
to  country.  His  admirers  shared  largely  in  his  own  delusions."  (From  letter  of 
Mr.  Hayes  to  William  Henry  Smith,  June  11,  1888.) 

3  An  indication  of  the  feeling  of  the  Stalwart  Republicans  in  New  York  toward 
Mr.  Evarts  is  afforded  in  a  letter  of  Mr.  T.  C.  Platt  to  Mr.  Hayes,  written  Sep 
tember  23, 1876,  in  which  he  said:  "  I  do  not  hesitate  to  express  the  opinion  that  if 
Hon.  George  William  Curtis's  favorite  candidate,  Mr.  Evarts,  had  been  nomi 
nated  [for  Governor  of  New  York],  he  would  have  been  defeated  beyond  a  perad- 
venture.  The  working  Republicans  of  the  State  would  not  have  supported  a  man 
who  has  never  shown  his  faith  by  his  works,  who  has  received  wealth  and  honor 
from  an  Administration  which  he  has  publicly  abused  and  vilified,  and  whose 
record  as  a  Republican  has  been  more  than  doubtful." 


INAUGURATION  AND  CABINET  25 

movement  of  1872  and  in  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel  Conference 
of  1876;  he  was  too  much  of  an  idealist  for  this  practical,  work 
aday  world;  he  had  been  too  outspoken  in  criticism  of  the 
methods  and  measures  of  the  little  coterie  of  "Grant  Senators," 
and  in  denouncing  their  low  and  sordid  views  of  politics;  he  had 
not  shown  in  his  many  different  activities  that  he  possessed 
administrative  ability;  he  was  the  very  embodiment  of  the 
fantastic  idea  of  civil  service  reform.  His  presence  in  the  Cabi 
net  would  be  an  affront  to  every  statesman,  the  first  article  of 
whose  faith  was  the  sacred  duty  of  party  regularity  and  who  saw 
with  alarm  the  threatened  attack  on  his  prescriptive  right  of 
patronage.  Opposition  to  Mr.  Key  was  solely  on  the  ground 
that  he  was  a  Democrat.  Surely  things  were  coming  to  a  pretty 
pass  when  a  Republican  President  thought  it  advisable  or  de 
sirable  to  invite  a  member  of  the  defeated  party,  however  able 
and  distinguished,  into  the  inmost  circle  of  governmental  au 
thority.  The  millennium  was  not  yet  come  and  no  such  tran 
scendental  performance  should  be  sanctioned  or  tolerated. 

It  was  with  such  thoughts  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  many 
that  the  Senators  assembled  Wednesday  morning.  The  question 
of  the  seating  of  Kellogg,  which  the  sudden  adjournment  of  the 
day  before  had  left  in  the  air,  was  again  taken  up,  and  Mr.  Elaine 
repeated  with  fresh  truculence  the  views  he  had  then  expressed. 
Just  as  the  heated  discussion  came  to  an  end,  the  President's 
private  secretary,  W.  K.  Rogers,  appeared  in  the  chamber 
bearing  the  Cabinet  nominations.  The  Senate  promptly  went 
into  executive  session  and  the  mutinous  spirit  which  animated 
the  controlling  Republican  leaders  was  quickly  made  manifest. 
It  had  been  the  practically  invariable  custom  of  the  Senate  to 
confirm  Cabinet  appointments  immediately  on  presentation, 
and  without  reference  to  committees.  It  had  been  the  unwritten 
rule  of  the  Senate,  seldom  if  ever  transgressed,  to  confirm  with 
similar  promptitude  the  nomination  to  any  office  of  a  member  of 
the  Senate  or  of  any  man  that  had  been  a  member  thereof,  the 
reasonable  presumption  being  that  the  Senators  were  already 
so  well  informed  of  such  a  man's  qualification  that  reference  to 
a  committee  was  superfluous.  But  now  both  these  long-estab 
lished  and  well-founded  precedents  were  lightly  set  aside.  The 
rules  of  the  Senate,  to  be  sure,  required  the  reference  of  all 


26  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

nominations  to  the  appropriate  committees;  and  the  rules  could 
be  waived  only  by  unanimous  consent,  which  previously  in  such 
cases  had  always  been  granted  as  a  matter  of  course.  But  now, 
on  the  motion  to  confirm  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Evarts,  whose 
name  naturally  took  precedence,  Mr.  Cameron  at  once  objected, 
and  Mr.  Blaine  moved  that  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Foreign  Relations  when  that  committee  should  be  constituted. 
Discussion  followed  in  which  several  Senators  participated  who 
expressed  indignant  disapproval  of  one  or  another  nomination. 
Specially  vigorous  were  the  objections  made  to  Mr.  Schurz  and 
to  Mr.  Key.  The  outcome  was  that  all  the  nominations,  even 
that  of  Senator  Sherman,  were  referred  to  various  committees. 

The  inference  drawn  by  the  press  and  the  people  of  the  coun 
try,  when  this  unprecedented  procedure  of  the  Senate  became 
known,  was  that  the  Republican  leaders  of  the  Senate  seriously 
contemplated  the  rejection  of  some  or  all  of  the  Cabinet  nomi 
nations.  The  Democrats  were  elated  at  the  prospect  of  dissen 
sion  and  division  among  the  Republicans.  The  Senators  of  that 
party  met  in  caucus  Wednesday  evening  for  conference  in  re 
gard  to  the  course  they  had  better  pursue.  While  no  formal 
action  was  taken  a  disposition  was  manifested  to  foster  Republi 
can  confusion  and  to  refuse  to  vote  for  confirmation  of  the  Cabi 
net  unless  positive  assurances  were  given  from  the  White  House 
that  Packard  and  Chamberlain,  as  Governors  respectively  of 
Louisiana  and  South  Carolina,  were  not  to  be  sustained.  But 
certain  of  the  wiser  Senators  from  the  South  deprecated  any 
attempt  at  bargaining. 

Throughout  the  country  the  nominations  to  the  Cabinet  were 
received  with  a  storm  of  enthusiastic  approval,  and  the  conduct 
of  the  Senate  was  condemned  and  denounced.  Commendatory 
dispatches  and  letters  from  representative  men  poured  into 
the  White  House  accompanied  with  earnest  exhortation  to  the 
President  to  stand  firm.  The  leading  papers  of  the  country  in 
their  editorial  utterances  reflected  the  popular  approval  and 
likewise  urged  the  President  not  to  yield  an  inch  to  senatorial 
assumption  and  dictation.  But  Mr.  Hayes,  conscious  of  the 
rectitude  of  his  purposes,  and  not  easily  affrighted  by  factious 
opposition,  needed  no  exhortation  to  remain  steadfast  in  a  posi 
tion  he  had  on  due  reflection  once  deliberately  assumed. 


INAUGURATION  AND  CABINET  27 

On  Thursday  the  Senate  so  far  receded  from  its  position  of  the 
day  before  as  to  confirm  the  nomination  of  Senator  Sherman. 
This  followed  after  an  hour's  debate,  the  reason  assigned  for  an 
exception  in  his  case  being  that  it  was  necessary  to  know  whether 
he  was  a  Senator  or  not  before  the  committee  assignments  were 
announced.1  The  attitude  toward  the  other  nominations  re 
mained  unchanged,  and  Senator  Cameron  spoke  in  favor  of 
the  rejection  of  most  of  them.  Friday  the  committees  were 
announced  and  the  nominations  were  referred,  as  ordered  on 
Wednesday,  to  those  concerned  with  the  duties  of  the  various 
Departments.  Senator  Cameron,  who  had  been  constantly  busy 
among  the  Senators,  Democrats  as  well  as  Republicans,  foment 
ing  opposition  to  the  nominations,  sought  to  have  the  Senate 
adjourn  till  Monday,  but  the  motion  was  decisively  voted  down.  ' 

Meanwhile  the  Senators  that  had  so  boldly  set  out  to  teach 
the  President  that  it  was  his  duty  to  defer  to  their  superior  wis 
dom,  were  hearing  from  the  country.  Word  was  reaching  them 
of  meetings  of  representative  men,  held  in  New  York,  Phila 
delphia,  and  many  other  important  cities,  which  adopted  reso 
lutions  commending  the  President's  inaugural  address  and  his 
Cabinet  appointments  and  condemning  their  conduct;  tele 
grams  from  influential  party  men,  from  political  clubs,  and  from 
commercial  bodies  were  streaming  in  upon  them  from  all  parts 
of  the  country,  imploring  confirmation  without  delay;  and  the 
powerful  and  practically  unanimous  voice  of  public  opinion, 
echoed  and  emphasized  by  the  newspaper  press,  was  penetrating 
their  consciousness  with  its  imperative  admonition.  Bewildered 
and  dazed  by  the  popular  indignation  that  their  purblind  antag 
onism  to  the  President  had  evoked,  they  were  perforce  compelled 
to  admit  that  they  had  misread  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  they 
hastily,  albeit  sullenly,  fled  to  cover.  By  Saturday  morning, 
when  the  Senate  reassembled,  the  last  remnants  of  opposition 
appeared  to  have  melted  away.  When  the  nominations  were 
favorably  reported  by  the  various  committees,  no  member  had 
the  temerity  to  object  to  immediate  consideration,  though  a 
single  objection  would  have  postponed  action.  Even  the  enemies 

1  Twelve  votes  were  cast  against  the  confirmation,  certain  Democrats  oppos 
ing  Mr.  Sherman  because  of  his  activity  and  speeches  in  the  Louisiana  election 
dispute. 


28  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

of  Mr.  Schurz  did  not  venture  to  raise  their  voices.  So  that, 
after  all  the  bitterness  and  bickering  of  the  week,  Messrs.  Evarts, 
Schurz,  and  Key,  whose  nominations  had  excited  most  repug 
nance,  were  confirmed  with  only  two  opposing  votes,  and  Messrs. 
McCrary,  Devens,  and  Thompson  without  a  dissentient  voice.1 
But  the  whole  incident  had  served  a  good  purpose  by  showing 
the  country  in  a  striking  manner  the  pettiness  of  motive  which 
had  stirred  certain  great  party  leaders  to  captious  opposition, 
and  by  clearly  revealing  the  equable  temper  and  unyielding 
firmness  in  a  trying  situation  of  the  new  President.2 

Mr.  Hayes  in  his  diary,  March  14,  gave  this  brief  and  color 
less  summary  of  the  Cabinet  complication :  — 

1  Mr.  Cameron  was  so  greatly  piqued  by  his  failure  to  get  his  son  appointed  to 
the  Cabinet  and  by  the  confirmation  of  Mr.  Evarts,  whom  he  intensely  disliked 
(with  whom  he,  as  chairman  of  the  Foreign  Relations  Committee,  would  have  to 
be  closely  associated),  that  he  promptly  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate.    (New 
York  Herald,  March  13.)  On  his  instruction,  his  Pennsylvania  Legislature  ob 
sequiously  elected  Don  Cameron  as  his  successor. 

2  Senator  Edmunds,  who  was  ill  and  unable  to  be  in  his  seat  during  the  Cabi 
net  discussions,  correctly  apprehended  the  situation,  as  is  shown  by  the  following 
letter,  written  on  the  day  when  the  nominations  were  confirmed:  — 

WASHINGTON,  March  10,  1877. 

DEAR  MR.  PRESIDENT,  —  I  am  sorry  that  being  confined  to  my  house  by  ill 
ness  since  the  first  of  March,  and  the  prospect  of  being  for  some  time  to  come 
unable  to  go  about  town,  have  put  me  under  the  necessity  of  making  my  congrat 
ulations  to  you  in  writing. 

I  hope  you  will  not  have  been  disturbed  at  the  perhaps  not  entirely  unnatural 
feeling,  that  in  some  quarters  has  presented  itself.  The  situation  is  so  unique, 
and  the  reality  that  a  President  really  means  to  keep  his  promises  made  before 
election,  that  it  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  the  great  chiefs  should  ruffle  then* 
feathers  a  little.  I  cannot  but  hope,  however,  that  after  a  space  all  will  see  their 
way  clearly  to  pull  together.  —  Very  respectfully  yours, 

GEO.  F.  EDMUNDS. 

George  William  Curtis,  in  Harper's  Weekly  (March  24),  displayed  like  pene 
tration:  "It  is  very  hard  for  an  old  politician  to  believe  that  a  party  man  may 
have  political  convictions  which  he  will  not  yield  to  what  is  called  party  neces 
sity.  .  .  .  Here  was  a  President  who  was  more  of  a  patriot  than  a  partisan,  who 
regarded  public  questions  with  the  humane  eye  of  statesmanship,  more  mindful 
of  the  general  welfare  than  of  party  or  personal  advantage.  Yet  he  had  proposed 
principles  only,  not  measures,  and  principles  which  his  party  has  always  pro 
fessed,  when  the  attack  was  made,  and  by  implication,  by  innuendo,  by  assump 
tion,  he  and  his  policy,  as  yet  unknown,  were  denounced  to  the  country.  The 
effort  was  made  to  discredit  him  with  his  party  before  a  single  measure  was  pro 
posed;  and  the  party  whip  was  cracked  for  the  double  purpose  of  coercing  him  to 
the  will  of  the  old  leadership,  and  of  exciting  against  him  in  advance  the  suspicion 
of  his  political  friends." 


INAUGURATION  AND  CABINET  29 

The  chief  disappointment  among  the  influential  men  of  the  party  was 
with  Conkling,  Elaine,  Camerons,  Logan,  and  their  followers.  They 
were  very  bitter.  The  opposition  was  chiefly  to  Evarts,  Key,  and  Schurz, 
and  especially  Schurz.  Speeches  were  made,  and  an  attempt  to  combine 
with  the  Democrats  to  defeat  the  confirmation  of  the  nominations  only 
failed  to  be  formidable  by  the  resolute  support  of  the  Southern  Senators 
like  Gordon,  Lamar,  and  Hill.  After  a  few  days  the  public  opinion  of 
the  country  was  shown  by  the  press  to  be  strongly  with  me.  All  of  the 
nominations  were  confirmed  by  almost  a  unanimous  vote. 

The  expressions  of  satisfaction  from  all  parts  of  the  country  are 
most  gratifying.  The  press  and  the  private  correspondence  of  Rogers 
and  myself  are  full  of  it.1 

Of  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  the  three  ablest  men  —  and 
there  were  few  men  of  their  period  of  greater  ability  —  were 
Messrs.  Evarts,  Sherman,  and  Schurz.  They  were  all  men  whose 
achievements  had  given  them  international  fame.  In  all  the 
land  there  was  no  lawyer  of  wider  repute,  of  larger  accomplish 
ment,  or  of  ampler  capability  than  Mr.  Evarts.  He  had  been 
chief  counsel  for  President  Johnson  in  the  impeachment  trial, 
presenting  an  argument  in  defense  on  constitutional  grounds, 
the  convincing  power  of  which  no  one  will  now  dispute,  and  he 
was  Attorney-General  in  Johnson's  Cabinet  the  last  few  months 
of  that  most  unpopular  Administration.  Extreme  Republicans 
had  never  quite  forgiven  him  for  his  association  with  Johnson. 
Before  the  Geneva  Court  of  Arbitration  he  had  been  the  leading 
counsel  of  the  United  States  in  presenting  and  defending  the 
Alabama  claims,  doing  his  share  with  a  thoroughness  and  effi 
ciency  that  contributed  greatly  to  the  success  of  the  American 
plea.  And  just  now  he  had  freely  given  his  services  as  chief 
counsel  of  the  Republican  party  in  defending  the  party's  cause 
before  the  Electoral  Commission.  His  argument  against  the 
right  of  Congress  to  interfere  with  state  authority  in  appointing 
Presidential  electors,  or  to  review  its  action,  was  unanswerable. 
Besides  his  fame  as  a  lawyer  Mr.  Evarts  had  also  won  deservedly 
high  repute  as  an  orator  both  on  the  hustings  and  on  great 
memorial  occasions.  In  the  whole  country,  by  common  consent, 

1  One  note  of  commendation  which  the  President  highly  prized  came  from 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  dated  March  9.  It  was  in  the  handwriting  of  James 
Russell  Lowell  and  said  simply :  "  The  course  of  the  President  is  what  we  expected 
and  heartily  approve";  and  was  signed  J.  R.  Lowell,  Henry  W.  Longfellow, 
Charles  W.  Eliot,  F.  J.  Child,  and  C.  E.  Norton. 


30  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

no  man  was  better  equipped  to  continue  the  great  traditions  of 
the  Department  of  State. 

Nor  were  there  many  men  of  discernment  at  that  time  —  none, 
now  —  that  would  have  denied  the  accuracy  of  the  judgment 
expressed  by  Mr.  Hayes  in  his  letter  inviting  Mr.  Sherman  to  be 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  —  that  he  was  the  man  best  fitted  in 
the  nation  for  that  most  important  post.  He  had  been  a  leader 
of  the  Republican  party  from  its  very  beginning  and  continu 
ously  in  Congress.  In  the  House  of  Representatives,  to  which 
he  was  elected  first  in  1854,  he  soon  gained  distinction  by  his 
admirable  powers  in  debate,  his  clear  knowledge  of  public  affairs, 
and  his  excellent  judgment.  Succeeding  Mr.  Chase  in  the  Senate, 
when  the  latter  became  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  he  had,  as  a 
member,  and  now  for  many  years  as  chairman  of  the  Finance 
Committee,  played  a  large  part  in  shaping  the  financial  legisla 
tion  of  the  country.  He  was  more  largely  than  any  other  one 
man  responsible  for  the  authorship  and  adoption  by  the  Senate 
of  the  act  to  provide  for  the  resumption  of  specie  payments; 
and  so  was  in  complete  sympathy  with  Mr.  Hayes's  financial 
views  and  purposes.  He  possessed  to  an  unusual  degree  the 
confidence  and  respect  alike  of  his  fellow  statesmen  and  of  the 
general  public,  as  a  wise  and  prudent  counsellor  and  as  a 
vigorous  and  patriotic  advocate  and  defender  of  the  principles 
he  espoused. 

Mr.  Schurz  had  less  of  practical  achievement  to  his  credit 
than  either  Mr.  Evarts  or  Mr.  Sherman;  but  his  career  had  been 
tinged  with  the  glamour  of  romance,  and  he  had  impressed  the 
country  as  an  ardent,  brilliant,  and  resourceful  champion  of 
whatever  political  course  he  believed  at  the  time  to  be  right. 
He  would  never  temporize  with  his  convictions  nor  compromise 
his  principles  for  the  sake  of  momentary  success.  Like  many 
other  German  patriots,  after  the  abortive  revolutionary  struggle 
of  1848,  he  had  come  to  this  country,  imbued  with  fervid  repub 
lican  beliefs  and  aspirations,  here  to  find  his  home  and  to  labor 
in  the  cause  of  better  political  life.  He  naturally  allied  himself 
with  the  new  Republican  party,  and  as  orator  (alike  in  German 
and  English,  of  which  he  attained  singularly  felicitous  mastery), 
editor,  soldier,  and  statesman,  he  fought  with  unquenchable 
ardor  in  the  struggle  for  freedom,  for  wise  reconstruction,  and 


INAUGURATION  AND  CABINET  31 

for  purer  administrative  methods,  maintaining  throughout  his 
lofty  idealism  of  character  and  his  glowing  faith  in  the  Republic. 
It  was  quite  inevitable  that  he  should  oppose  and  criticize  the 
tendencies  of  the  controlling  forces  of  the  party  under  General 
Grant's  Administration  and  throw  himself  heart  and  soul  into 
the  Liberal  Republican  movement  of  1872,  which  the  nomination 
of  Horace  Greeley  doomed  to  certain  disaster.  It  was  equally 
inevitable  that  the  character  of  Mr.  Hayes  and  the  assurances 
of  his  letter  of  acceptance  should  attract  his  enthusiastic  cham 
pionship.  Throughout  the  canvass  Mr.  Hayes  had  no  more 
zealous  or  effective  supporter.  He  came  into  the  Cabinet  in 
perfect  accord  with  Mr.  Hayes's  reform  ideas  and  eager  to 
assist  in  their  realization. 

The  other  four  men,  though  less  notable,  were  men  of  solid 
attainments,  of  acknowledged  ability,  and  of  unblemished  char 
acter;  and  they  believed  sincerely  in  the  general  policy  Mr. 
Hayes  proposed  to  follow.  Each  one  of  them  was  well  known 
and  highly  regarded  in  his  own  part  of  the  country,  and  in  the 
months  just  past  Mr.  Key,  in  the  Senate,  and  Mr.  McCrary,  in 
the  House,  had  gained  distinction  by  the  moderation  and  wisdom 
of  their  course  in  relation  to  the  electoral  dispute.  Judge  Devens 
had  served  gallantly  during  the  war,  rising  for  meritorious  serv 
ice  to  the  rank  of  brevet  major-general,  and  as  associate  justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts  had  won  an  enviable 
reputation  as  a  jurist.  Doubtless  the  weakest  appointment  was 
that  of  Mr.  Thompson,  though  he  did  not  prove  inefficient.  But 
Mr.  Thompson  had  been  conspicuous  in  political  life  for  nearly 
forty  years,  having  served  as  a  Harrison  elector  for  Indiana  in 
1840.  No  campaign  orator  in  the  Central  West  had  a  fairer 
reputation  for  eloquence  and  effectiveness.  He  was  known  to 
have  been  the  author  of  the  Republican  platform  of  1860,  and 
his  skill  in  draughting  platforms  had  often  been  called  in  requisi 
tion.  Though  he  was  already  advanced  in  years,  his  vigor  was 
unabated,  and  he  came  to  his  high  position  with  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  all  who  knew  him  well  and  with  a  zealous 
determination  to  render  faithful  service. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  the  Cabinet  proved  to  be,  as  it  promised 
at  the  beginning,  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  harmonious  that 
the  country  had  ever  had.  Contemporary  opinion  gave  it 


32  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

hearty  acclaim  and  subsequent  judgment  finds  that  acclaim 
fully  merited.  The  members  worked  together  without  friction, 
devoted  to  their  duties  and  loyal  to  their  chief,  for  whom  with 
constant  association  their  respect  and  esteem  deepened  and  in 
creased.1  Mr.  Hayes  gave  them  all  his  full  confidence  and  sup 
port;  but  his  closest  relations,  his  most  intimate  intercourse, 
were  with  Mr.  Sherman,  who  had  long  been  his  friend,  and  with 
Mr.  Schurz,  to  whom,  by  reason  of  mutual  intellectual  sym 
pathies  and  political  ideals,  he  became  affectionately  attached. 

1  The  Cabinet  continued  without  change  until  December,  1879,  when  Mr.  Mc- 
Crary  was  appointed  District  Judge  for  Iowa.  He  was  succeeded  by  Alexander 
Ramsey,  of  Minnesota,  who  was  long  a  Senator  and  had  filled  many  other  offices. 
In  August,  1880,  Horace  Maynard,  of  Tennessee,  recently  Minister  at  St.  Peters 
burg,  succeeded  Mr.  Key,  who  also  was  appointed  District  Judge  —  for  East 
Tennessee.  In  January,  1881,  Nathan  Goff,  of  West  Virginia,  became  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  Mr.  Thompson  having  resigned  to  become  chairman  of  the  Ameri 
can  Advisory  Committee  of  the  Panama  Canal  Company. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM 

THE  first  subject  to  demand  the  serious  attention  of  the 
new  Administration  was  the  disposition  of  the  Southern 
problem.  The  problem  was  acute  and  the  demand  was  exigent. 
President  Grant  had  paltered  with  it,  hesitating,  for  consist 
ency's  or  policy's  sake,  to  abandon  the  attitude  he  had  long 
maintained  or  to  take  decided  action  while  the  Presidency  hung 
in  the  balance.  What  he  might  have  done  had  the  count  been 
quickly  completed,  it  is  useless  to  speculate  upon,  though  cer 
tain  intimations  he  had  given  and  his  final  dispatches  l  in  rela 
tion  to  the  matter  afford  basis  for  the  belief  that  he  probably 
might,  in  that  event,  have  reversed  the  course  he  had  hitherto 
steadily  pursued.2  Only  two  days  of  his  term  remained  when  the 

1  The  Washington  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  who  seems  to  have 
been  most  careful  in  his  statements,  telegraphed  the  Tribune,  February  28,  that 
there  was  "unquestioned  authority"  for  stating  "that  the  President  has  deter 
mined,  as  soon  as  the  counting  of  the  electoral  votes  is  completed,  to  change  his 
policy  toward  the  dual  governments  in  Louisiana."  And  the  next  day,  in  reply 
to  a  dispatch  from  Packard,  who  had  heard  of  the  President's  contemplated 
change  of  policy,  this  dispatch  was  sent:  — 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION, 
WASHINGTON,  D.C.,  March  1,  1876. 
To  GOVERNOR  S.  B.  PACKARD,  New  Orleans,  La.:  — 

In  answer  to  your  dispatch  of  this  date,  the  President  directs  me  to  say  that  he 
feels  it  his  duty  to  state  frankly  that  he  does  not  believe  public  opinion  will  longer 
support  the  maintenance  of  State  Government  in  Louisiana  by  the  use  of  the 
military,  and  that  he  must  concur  in  this  manifest  feeling.  The  troops  will  here 
after,  as  in  the  past,  protect  life  and  property  from  mob  violence  when  the  state 
authorities  fail,  but  under  the  remaining  days  of  his  official  life  they  will  not  be 
used  to  establish  or  pull  down  either  claimant  for  control  of  the  State.  It  is  not 
his  purpose  to  recognize  either  claimant. 

C.  C.  SNIFFEN,  Secretary. 

1  John  Sherman  in  a  speech  at  Mansfield,  August  17,  1877,  said:  "He  [Presi 
dent  Grant]  would  not  recognize  Packard  as  Governor,  but  I  know,  what  is  now 
an  open  secret,  the  strong  bent  of  his  mind,  and  at  one  time  his  decision  was  to 
withdraw  the  troops,  to  recognize  Nicholls,  and  thus  end  this  dangerous  contest. 
He  did  not  do  this,  but  kept  the  peace." 

Compare  also:  "Senator  Jones,  of  Nevada,  one  of  the  particular  friends  of 


34  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

count  was  finished,  and  he  evidently  believed  —  quite  sensibly 
—  that  in  that  time  it  was  unwise  either  to  forestall  the  prob 
able  action  of  his  successor  or  by  any  new  order  to  add  further 
difficulties  to  the  complexities  of  the  situation. 

The  Southern  problem,  in  its  present  aspect,  had  been  nar 
rowed  down  to  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina.  All  the  other 
Southern  States,  one  after  another,  by  the  use  at  times  of  methods 
which  even  their  authors  and  enforcers  could  justify  only  on  the 
grounds  of  what  they  believed  exculpatory  necessity,  had  cast 
off  negro  and  carpetbag  rule,  and  established  the  control  of  the 
white  Democrats,  —  who  were  the  overwhelming  majority  of 
the  intelligent  and  property-owning  white  people,  and  with 
whom  most  of  the  old  Whigs  of  ante-bellum  days  were  now 
identified.  The  violence,  the  outrage,  and  the  fraudulent  voting 
which  had  been  incident  to  this  "peaceful"  political  revolution 
had  been  condoned  by  Southern  sentiment  and  vehemently 
reprobated  by  the  general  moral  sense  of  the  North;  though 
more  and  more  people  of  the  North  were  inclined  to  extenuate 
these  iniquities  as  necessary  in  the  interest  of  civilization;  and, 
anyway,  as  of  no  political  concern  to  any  States  except  the  ones 
involved. 

At  the  date  of  the  election  in  1876  only  three  Southern  States 
still  had  Republican  Governors,  Louisiana,  South  Carolina,  and 
Florida;  and  Kellogg,  in  Louisiana,  through  the  stormy  period 
of  his  incumbency,  had  been  able  to  maintain  his  authority  only 
by  reason  of  the  protection  of  the  federal  army.  In  all  these 
States  the  Democrats  claimed  the  election  of  their  state  tickets, 
even  though  the  Republican  electors  were  declared  to  have  been 
chosen;  and  they  were  determined  to  enforce  their  claims.  In 
Florida,  the  State  Supreme  Court  sustained  the  contention  of 
the  Democrats,  the  Republicans  yielded  under  protest  to  the 
court's  decision,  and  the  Democratic  Governor  and  Lieutenant- 
Governor  were  quietly  installed.  The  prevailing  sentiment  of 
the  State  approved  the  consummation,  and  the  protest  of  the 

General  Grant,  in  recently  saying  that  President  Hayes's  Southern  action  was  a 
necessity,  added : '  The  election  of  President  Hayes  was  all  that  prevented  General 
Grant  from  pursuing  the  same  course.  I  know  that  six  months  before  the  inaugu 
ration  of  Hayes,  Grant  had  determined  that  the  colored  voters  of  the  United 
States  could  not  be  protected  by  United  States  troops.'"  (Harper's  Weekly, 
August  24,  1878.) 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  35 

Republicans  fell  on  ears  dull  to  all  subjects  but  the  absorbing 
question  of  the  Presidential  succession. 

But  things  were  far  otherwise  in  Louisiana  and  South  Caro 
lina.  In  both  these  States  rival  State  Governments  were  set  up, 
the  Republican  claimants  acting  under  the  sanction  of  the  find 
ing  of  the  Returning  Boards;  the  Democratic  contestants  rely 
ing  on  the  face  of  the  unconnected  returns  and  appealing  to  the 
courts  in  justification  of  their  procedure.  In  South  Carolina 
the  rival  executives  were  Governor  Chamberlain  and  Wade 
Hampton;  in  Louisiana,  S.  B.  Packard  and  Francis  T.  Nicholls. 
The  former,  with  the  Republican  portion  of  the  Legislature  in 
each  State,  were  in  possession  of  the  state  capitols  and  the  state 
archives.  But  Messrs.  Hampton  and  Nicholls  had  established 
executive  offices  outside,  and  the  portion  of  the  Legislatures 
that  adhered  to  each  of  them  had  found  a  regular  meeting-place 
in  a  public  hall.  Only  by  the  presence  and  protection  of  federal 
troops  were  Messrs.  Packard  and  Chamberlain  able  to  sustain 
themselves  in  position  and  to  maintain  a  show  of  authority; 
neither  had  a  militia  force  of  any  account.  Predominant  public 
opinion  —  that  of  the  intelligent  and  propertied  classes  —  in 
the  two  States  supported  Messrs.  Hampton  and  Nicholls.  Men 
formed  military  organizations  which  were  ready  to  act  in  their 
behalf,  and  freely  made  advance  payment  of  taxes  or  contribu 
tions  to  furnish  them  with  means  to  carry  on  the  government. 
In  South  Carolina  the  Supreme  Court  and  courts  of  lower  juris 
diction  recognized  the  Hampton  Government.  In  Louisiana 
confusion  was  worse  confounded  by  the  existence  of  rival  Su 
preme  Courts.  President  Grant  refused  to  take  a  decisive  stand, 
and  refused  likewise  to  withdraw  the  federal  troops;  but  these 
were  ordered  merely  to  maintain  the  status  quo  —  to  keep  the 
peace,  to  prevent  an  armed  collision  between  the  partisans  of 
the  rival  administrations.  He  was  evidently  wavering  in  his 
confidence  in  the  wisdom  of  the  policy  long  pursued;  evidently 
waiting  to  see  the  outcome  of  the  Presidential  contest. 

Meanwhile  the  supporters  of  Hampton  and  Nicholls  were  also 
waiting  patiently  and  hopefully  for  the  same  event,  and  were 
refraining  from  the  employment  of  force.  At  the  same  time,  in 
earnest  and  dignified  pronouncements  they  were  presenting 
their  grievances  and  claims  to  the  country,  and  were  appealing 


36  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

to  the  good  sense  of  the  nation  to  be  treated  as  were  the  people 
of  other  States  —  to  be  left  alone  to  determine  and  settle  their 
own  political  disputes  by  the  machinery  of  their  laws  and  courts 
without  the  interference  or  direction  of  federal  authority.  What 
ever  the  result  of  the  Presidential  count  they  believed  or  hoped 
that  it  would  work  to  their  advantage.  With  Tilden  inaugurated 
there  could  be  no  doubt  what  would  happen.  And  Mr.  Hayes's 
letter  of  acceptance,  reenforced  by  assurances  given  them  of 
late  by  close  friends  of  Mr.  Hayes  that  he  had  not  changed  his 
views  or  intentions,1  encouraged  them  to  hope  that  likewise  with 
him  as  President  the  end  they  sought  would  be  attained. 

Undoubtedly  the  deepening  conviction  on  the  part  of  Northern 
Republicans  of  judicious  temper  was  adverse  to  the  national 
policy  long  exercised  toward  the  South.  Whatever  may  have 
been  the  necessity  of  its  adoption  and  continuance  in  the  early 
years  of  reconstruction,  —  and  that  necessity  they  thought 
beyond  dispute,  —  they  felt  now  that  the  time  was  come  for 
its  modification.  Certain  it  was  that  it  had  not  accomplished 
what  had  been  hoped  of  it;  it  had  not  brought  about  cordial 
relations  between  the  races;  rather  it  had  provoked  increased 
misunderstanding  and  animosity,  which  flamed  forth  in  out 
rages  and  terrorism,  and  sent  masked  men  abroad  at  night  to 
kill  and  burn:  certain,  too,  that  the  State  Governments  it  had 
protected  by  force  of  arms  were  a  stench  in  the  nostrils  of  honest 
men  by  reason  of  the  ignorance,  the  injustice,  and  the  appalling 
corruption  that  defiled  their  administration.  Nor  had  the  policy 
been  successful  regarded  solely  from  the  low  plane  of  party  poli 
tics:  it  had  not  preserved  the  Republican  party  in  the  South;  it 
had  weakened  the  Republican  party  in  the  North.  Moreover, 

1  For  example,  the  letter  to  General  Gordon  and  John  Y.  Brown  by  Charles 
Foster  and  Stanley  Matthews;  and  John  Sherman  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Hayes  of 
February  17  said:  "I  have  carefully  considered  the  giving  an  assurance  of  your 
views  on  the  Southern  question,  but  do  not  see  my  way  clear  to  quote  you  or 
even  to  say  that  I  have  received  a  letter  from  you  on  the  subject.  I  talked  with 
Boynton  about  it  and  with  many  Southern  men,  and  have  said  that  you  un 
doubtedly  would  stand  by  the  words  of  your  letter  of  acceptance  in  spirit  and  in 
substance;  and  that  you  would  make  the  Southern  question  a  specialty  in  your 
Administration,  but  I  have  not  quoted  you  directly  and  did  not  think  it  wise  to 
do  so.  You  have  gained  largely  by  your  silence  and  caution  since  the  election, 
and  I  do  not  wish  to  impair  this  by  quoting  you.  To  those  who  wish  to  be  con 
vinced  I  give  ample  assurance." 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  37 

it  was  indisputable  that  in  the  Southern  States  which  by  what 
ever  means  had  thrown  off  negro  and  carpetbag  domination, 
fewer  outrages  occurred,  purer  government  existed,  and  greater 
quiet  and  prosperity  prevailed.1  On  the  score  alike  of  patriot 
ism  and  of  party  expediency,  therefore,  Republicans  who  were 
affected  by  the  considerations  just  set  forth  were  ready  to  wel 
come  any  action  by  the  new  Administration  that  promised  to 
relieve  the  Government  and  to  rid  public  discussion  of  the  long 
embarrassing  and  wearisome  Southern  problem.2 

The  radical  wing  of  the  party,  on  the  other  hand<  in  which  was 
still  to  be  found  a  considerable  proportion,  if  not,  indeed,  a 
numerical  majority,  of  the  Republicans  of  the  North,  refused  to 
look  calmly  at  the  facts  of  the  situation  or  to  admit  their  force. 
They  could  think  of  the  Democrats  of  the  South,  at  least  in  all 
their  relations  to  politics,  only  as  unrepentant  Rebels  who  ought 
to  be  kept  down  with  a  strong  hand.  Suppose  these  did  suffer 

1  Senator  Key,  in  February,  1877,  writing  to  Bangor  (Maine)  Democrats  who 
had  invited  him  to  attend  a  Washington  birthday  celebration,  used  this  language: 
"  There  is  no  disturbance,  no  conflict  in  any  State  which  is  left  to  govern  its  own 
affairs.   They  occur  only  where  unscrupulous  men  impose  upon  the  colored 
people  to  maintain  power  and  place  by  which  they  may  rob  a  weak  and  helpless 
people.   What  we  need  is  the  confidence  of  our  Northern  brethren  —  evidence 
that  they  can  trust  our  honor  and  our  manhood.  It  has  been  long  since  this  has 
been  manifested  toward  us.   'Brethren,  let  us  love  one  another.'" 

2  Compare  speech  by  Congressman  William  P.  Frye  at  reception  accorded 
him  by  his  constituents,  Friday  evening,  March  9,  1877,  reported  the  following 
day  by  the  Lewiston  (Maine)  Journal.  He  said:  "We  must  remember  that  slav 
ery  existed  in  this  country  for  over  a  century,  and  that  its  leprous  touch  was  put 
on  the  whole  South.  You  have  no  right  to  expect  that  the  South  shall  rise  to  the 
standard  of  patriotism  and  virtue  of  our  Pilgrim  Fathers.  You  have  made  those 
freedmen  free  and  put  the  ballot  in  their  hands.  You  have  lifted  them  from  the 
earth  and  clothed  them  with  power  equal  to  that  of  the  white  man.   Can  you 
expect  white  men  to  look  on  quietly  and  accept  their  late  slaves  as  equals  at  the 
ballot-box  and  their  superiors  in  office?  You  and  I  would  rebel  against  that  order 
of  things.  As  good  citizens,  it  is  our  duty  to  extend  the  olive  branch  and  forgive, 
having  always  before  us  one  simple  purpose,  and  that  the  good  of  the  country  we 
love.  Our  President  is  now  extending  the  olive  branch  again.  I  trust  the  South 
will  accept  it,  and  that  new  life  will  be  infused  into  the  whole  country.  ...  I 
think  the  Southern  problem  would  have  been  solved  long  ago  if  political  sagacity 
had  been  exercised  eight  years  ago  in  the  matter  of  appointments  to  office.  For 
this  reason  the  Southern  problem  is  to-day  twenty  times  further  from  solution 
than  it  should  be.  Unfortunately,  we  have  allowed  political  vagabonds,  United 
States  Senators  and  Representatives  from  the  South,  to  hold  patronage,  and 
deliver  it  out  among  their  miserable  adherents.    Hence  the  stigma,  'carpet 
bagger,'  falls  on  every  Northern  man  in  the  South." 


38  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

from  corrupt  carpetbag  and  ignorant  negro  rule;  it  was  no  more 
than  they  deserved  for  their  stupendous  wickedness  in  seeking 
to  destroy  the  Government,  and  for  their  unaccountable  per 
versity  in  not  at  once  accepting  the  full  consequences  of  negro 
enfranchisement.  They  had  sown  the  wind;  let  them  reap  the 
whirlwind;  and  let  the  patriotic  men  that  had  saved  the  Union 
see  to  it  that  the  whirlwind  was  kept  fiercely  blowing.  It  would 
be  nothing  less  than  treachery  to  all  the  traditions  of  the  party 
for  a  Republican  Administration  at  Washington  to  deny  recogni 
tion  and  support  to  Packard  and  Chamberlain,  the  only  two 
Republican  Governors  left  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line. 
What  if  that  did  involve  the  continued  use  of  the  federal  army 
to  impose  their  administration  on  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina? 
Let  justice  be  done  though  the  heavens  fall!  What  had  the 
temper  and  resistance  of  the  intelligent  and  conservative  classes 
of  those  two  States  to  do  with  the  case?  How  idle  and  incon 
sequential  to  be  talking  of  practical  considerations  when  prin 
ciples  were  at  stake !  And  so,  on  and  on,  to  the  end  of  the  chapter. 
Moreover,  the  naked  logic  of  the  situation  seemed  to  be  with 
those  who  reasoned  or  felt  in  this  wise.  Were  not  the  titles  to 
office  of  Packard  and  Chamberlain  of  precisely  the  same  quality 
and  warrant  as  those  of  the  Presidential  electors  of  Louisiana 
and  South  Carolina,  without  whose  votes  Mr.  Hayes  could  not 
have  been  President?  How  could  he  refuse  to  recognize  those 
men  as  the  lawful  Governors  of  their  States  and  then  fail  to 
defend  them  in  the  exercise  of  their  function  without  impugning 
the  validity  of  the  title  on  which  his  own  authority  was  predi 
cated?  That  was  the  question  defiantly  vociferated  in  the  Senate 
by  Mr.  Blaine,  before  the  echoes  of  the  conciliatory  expressions 
in  Mr.  Hayes's  inaugural  address  had  ceased  to  reverberate. 
And  to  those  who  looked  only  at  the  surface  of  things  the  ques 
tion  was  unanswerable.  Even  in  that  case,  however,  the  facts 
of  the  situation,  the  practical  difficulties  that  must  be  faced, 
could  not  be  puffed  away  with  a  breath  of  logic.  They  remained 
with  their  inexorable  potency  of  mischief.1  If  need  there  was, 

1  Writing  to  Richard  Smith,  editor  of  the  Cincinnati  Gazette,  February  17, 
1877,  Joseph  Medill,  editor  of  the  Chicago  Tribune,  said:  " But  what  shall  be  done 
in  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina?  These  are  the  crucial  tests.  If  President  Hayes 
undertakes  to  keep  Packard  in  the  Governor's  chair  there  will  be  'organized 
h — 1 '  all  the  time.  He  will  go  around  like  a  man  with  a  thorn  in  his  foot,  without 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  39 

in  the  interest  of  peace  and  quiet  and  orderly  government  (sus 
tained  and  approved  by  intelligent  local  opinion),  and  in  defer 
ence  to  proper  interpretation  of  constitutional  authority,  for  the 
President  to  incur  misconception  and  charges  of  inconsistency 
from  members  of  his  own  party,  then,  unquestionably,  not  only 
wise  statesmanship,  but  a  conscientious  sense  of  duty  required 
him  to  take  the  risk;  to  scorn  the  mis  judgment  and  denuncia 
tion  that  might  immediately  follow  on  his  action  and  serenely 
to  await  the  calm  survey  of  the  future  to  justify  and  approve 
his  course.  It  is  the  weak  man  who  had  rather  continue  a  wrong 
than  be  charged  with  inconsistency.  It  is  foolish  and  futile 
statesmanship  that  permits  itself  to  be  bound  hand  and  foot 
by  the  coils  of  unyielding  logic,  and  so  refuses  to  deal  with 
conditions  that  have  become  unbearable  by  sensible  compromise 
and  practical  accommodation. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  no  charge  of  inconsistency  could 
fairly  lie  against  the  President  if  he  withdrew  the  federal  troops 
from  the  precincts  of  the  capitols  of  Louisiana  and  South  Caro 
lina  and  left  those  States  to  determine  their  disputes  by  their 
own  agencies  of  government.  The  limits  of  the  right  of  the 
Federal  Government  to  use  the  army  in  state  affairs  are  exactly 
defined  by  the  Constitution  —  to  preserve  a  republican  form  of 
government,  to  repel  invasion,  and,  on  proper  appeal  from  state 
authority,  to  quell  domestic  insurrection  that  the  State  is  unable 
to  cope  withal.  Suppose  the  interpretation  of  these  provisions 
of  the  Constitution  had  in  recent  years  been  stretched,  however 
plausibly  and  sincerely,  to  cover  a  multitude  of  interferences 
in  state  affairs  of  questionable  propriety;  must  these  doubtful 

peace  or  freedom  from  pain  until  it  is  extracted.  He  will  have  to  hold  Packard  up 
by  bayonets  and  gunboats,  and  put  down  insurrections  about  once  in  ninety 
days;  and  we  shall  be  expected  to  defend  and  justify  such  federal  interference  in 
behalf  of  an  odious  carpetbag  desperado  as  the  South  regard  him.  .  .  .  There 
is  only  one  thing  to  do  in  the  premises,  namely,  to  drop  Packard.  ...  So  of 
Chamberlain;  he  should  be  retired  from  the  gubernatorial  chair,  which  he  cannot 
hold  a  minute  if  the  troops  are  removed.  Chamberlain  is  a  pretty  good  man  for  a 
carpetbagger,  and  while  it  would  not  create  so  much  bitter  discontent  in  the 
South  to  keep  him  in  the  Governor's  chair  by  means  of  federal  musketry,  as  it 
will  Packard,  still  it  would  be  vastly  better  if  he  would  retire.  We  have  tried  for 
eight  years  to  uphold  negro  rule  in  the  South,  officered  by  carpetbaggers,  but 
without  exception  it  has  resulted  in  failure  and  almost  ruin  to  party.  Statesman 
ship  consists  of  making  the  best  use  of  the  means  at  command,  and  of  producing 
popular  contentment." 


40  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

precedents  be  forever  followed?  Was  it  not  altogether  wiser  — 
and  safer  for  our  institutions  —  to  hark  back  to  the  Constitu 
tion  itself  and  take  fresh  observations  to  direct  our  course?  We 
could  not  forever  treat  the  Southern  States,  or  any  of  them,  as 
special  cases,  not  entitled  to  all  the  rights  —  the  same  rights  — 
under  the  Constitution  that  all  other  States  possessed.  Now  that 
they  were  restored  to  their  proper  practical  relations  within  the 
Union,  no  policy  should  be  exercised  toward  them  that  would 
not  under  similar  circumstances  be  enforced  toward  Massa 
chusetts  or  Ohio. 

Indeed,  precisely  the  same  principles  of  strict  regard  to  the 
rights  of  the  States  to  appoint  Presidential  electors  in  what  way 
they  chose,  and  to  determine  by  their  own  machinery  who  were 
the  electors  appointed,  which  had  been  observed  by  the  Elec 
toral  Commission,  equally  demanded  that  the  States  should  be 
uncontrolled  by  federal  authority  in  determining  who  were  their 
chosen  state  officers.  If  any  inconsistency  appeared  in  these  two 
determinations,  what  concern  was  that  of  the  Federal  Govern 
ment?  Unless  a  republican  form  of  government  was  imperilled, 
or  insurrection  resulted  which  state  authority  could  not  sup 
press  and  so  asked  federal  aid,  the  Constitution  did  not  justify 
the  general  Government  in  paying  heed  to  a  State's  domestic 
disputes.  In  Florida,  when  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  had 
spoken,  the  Republican  claimants  to  office  subsided,  under  pro 
test,  and  the  transfer  of  authority  to  the  Democrats  was  made 
without  a  ripple.  In  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina  it  was  per 
fectly  evident  to  all  who  took  counsel,  not  of  their  wishes  and 
their  preconceptions,  but  of  conditions  and  facts,  that,  except 
for  the  presence  and  activity  of  United  States  soldiers,  the  Re 
publican  claimants  to  the  state  offices  would  have  made  equally 
ineffectual  protest,  and  the  Democrats  would  have  been  in  sole 
and  peaceful  possession  of  the  State  Governments.1 

It  all  looks  easy  in  the  retrospect.  But  with  indurated  preju 
dices  to  mollify;  with  partisan  passion  to  allay;  with  personal 
hopes  and  ambitions  to  disappoint;  with  self-seeking  party 

1  "  No  intelligent  man,  who  is  politically  sane  and  has  watched  the  situation  in 
the  South,  can  have  any  sort  of  doubt  that  the  Packard  and  Chamberlain  Gov 
ernments  would  dissolve  like  the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision  and  vanish  into  thin 
air  as  soon  as  the  federal  authority  should  declare  that  it  would  no  longer  protect 
them."  (New  York  Herald,  March  16,  1877.) 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  41 

leaders  and  vociferous  demagogues,  eager  to  criticize  and  create 
obstacles,  to  deal  with  or  guard  against;  with  ardent  friends  and 
supporters  giving  diametrically  opposing  advice,  the  just  and 
proper  determination  of  the  anomalous  situation  in  Louisiana 
and  South  Carolina  came  before  the  new  Administration  as  a 
problem  of  exceeding  difficulty  and  complexity.  It  did  not 
hesitate,  however,  to  meet  the  problem,  though  it  moved  with 
deliberation  and  circumspection,  as  was  proper  in  view  of  the 
perplexed  state  of  public  opinion  and  of  the  varied  interests 
involved.  Mr.  Hayes  recorded  in  his  diary,  March  14,  a  brief 
declaration  which  reveals  the  spirit  in  which  he  approached  the 
solution  of  the  problem :  — 

My  policy  is  trust,  peace,  and  to  put  aside  the  bayonet.  I  do  not 
think  the  wise  policy  is  to  decide  contested  elections  in  the  States  by  the 
use  of  the  national  army. 

Already  before  this,  Mr.  Stanley  Matthews,  intimate  and  life 
long  friend  of  Mr.  Hayes,  and  one  of  the  counsel  of  the  Republi 
can  party  before  the  Electoral  Commission  (who,  it  will  be  re 
called,  had  united  with  Charles  Foster  in  writing  the  reassuring 
letter  of  February  27  to  General  Gordon  and  John  Y.  Brown), 
had  been  making  efforts,  on  his  own  initiative,  and  without  the 
knowledge  of  Mr.  Hayes,  to  influence  Packard  and  Chamberlain 
to  relieve  the  situation  by  facing  the  inevitable  and  seeking  some 
sort  of  friendly  composition  with  their  rivals.  On  February  27, 
in  reply  to  a  letter  from  Packard  urging  reasons  why  the  Gov 
ernment  should  give  him  recognition,  Mr.  Matthews  had  written 
Packard  a  frank  statement  of  what  he  was  particular  to  declare 
were  his  individual  views.  The  gist  of  the  letter  was  contained 
in  these  words :  — 

Without  reference  to  the  rightfulness  of  the  origin  of  your  title  of 
Governor,  I  am  of  opinion  that  circumstances  are  such  that  it  will  be 
out  of  the  question  for  the  Republican  Administration  to  maintain  it, 
as  it  must  necessarily  do,  by  force  of  federal  arms.  As  soon  as  the  exist 
ing  military  orders  are  withdrawn,  the  Nicholls  Government  will  become 
the  only  existing  Government,  and  will  have  to  be  recognized  then  as 
such.  In  the  meantime  it  will  be  the  duty  of  the  Administration  to  take 
care  that  the  results  shall  not  imperil  the  right  and  equity  of  the  colored 
people  of  Louisiana,  so  far  as  it  has  lawful  power  to  prevent  it,  and  also 
to  take  care  that  stanch  Republicans  like  yourself,  against  whom  nothing 


42  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

disreputable  can  be  alleged,  should  not  suffer,  and  should  receive  consid 
eration  and  position  in  some  appropriate  way. 

Here,  plainly,  was  nothing  to  flatter  Packard's  hopes,  as  that 
worthy  gentleman  was  quick  to  perceive.  For  two  weeks  he 
maintained  silence  within  his  barricaded  office,  and  then,  when 
Mr.  Matthews  was  a  candidate  before  the  Republican  caucus 
of  the  Ohio  Legislature  for  nomination  as  Senator  to  succeed 
John  Sherman,  he  indited  a  reply  which,  with  Mr.  Matthews's 
letter,  he  gave  immediately  to  the  press.  The  reply  was,  briefly, 
a  determined  non  possumus,  declaring:  — 

I  judge  the  purpose  of  your  letter  to  have  been,  in  a  friendly  way,  to 
accomplish  the  abandonment  by  me  of  the  office  of  Governor,  to  the  end 
that  my  defeated  opponent  might  assume  unquestioned  the  office  to 
which  I  have  been  elected.  Admitting  the  value  of  the  opinion  of  one  so 
learned,  of  so  deservedly  great  influence  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  I 
am  constrained  by  a  high  sense  of  duty  to  unqualifiedly  decline  to  enter 
tain  any  proposition  to  relinquish  or  to  abandon  the  position  which  I 
hold. 

If  the  design  of  the  publication  of  this  correspondence  at  that 
particular  moment  was  to  injure  Mr.  Matthews's  chances  for 
the  Senate,  it  failed.  Equally  ineffective  was  the  clamor  raised 
on  account  of  his  letter  to  Governor  Chamberlain.  That  was 
written  March  4.  Senator  Gordon,  of  Georgia,  and  Mr.  Haskell, 
chairman  of  the  South  Carolina  Democratic  State  Committee, 
had  asked  Mr.  Matthews  to  intercede  with  President  Hayes  to 
withdraw  the  troops  from  the  State  House  at  Columbia.  Mr. 
Matthews  suggested  to  them  that  a  better  way  possibly  out  of 
the  tangle  would  be  to  induce  Governor  Chamberlain  to  seek 
an  understanding  with  Hampton,  even  at  the  sacrifice,  if  need  be, 
of  his  own  personal  interests.  At  their  request  he  consented  to 
embody  his  suggestion  in  a  letter  to  Governor  Chamberlain, 
being  careful,  however,  to  make  it  clear  that  he  was  acting  solely 
on  his  own  responsibility.  Mr.  Evarts  also  was  consulted,  and 
he  appended  to  what  Mr.  Matthews  had  written  a  few  lines  of 
friendly  but  non-committal  endorsement.  The  letter  was  en 
trusted  to  Mr.  Haskell,  who  hastened  to  Columbia  and  March  6 
laid  it  before  Governor  Chamberlain.  The  latter  was  evidently 
offended  at  receiving  the  communication  from  the  hands  of  the 
Democratic  State  Chairman  and  he  was  in  no  mood  to  consider 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  43 

compromise.  He  at  once  sent  the  following  dispatch  to  Senator- 
elect  Corbin  at  Washington :  — 

COLUMBIA,  S.C.,  March  6,  1877. 

THE  HON.  D.  T.  CORBIN,  —  I  have  just  had  a  long  interview  with 
Haskell,  who  brings  letters  to  me  from  Stanley  Matthews  and  Mr. 
Evarts.  The  purport  of  Mr.  Matthews's  letter  is  that  I  ought  to  yield 
my  rights  for  the  good  of  the  country.  This  is  embarrassing  beyond 
endurance.  If  such  action  is  desired  I  want  to  know  it  authoritatively. 
I  am  not  acting  for  myself,  and  I  cannot  assume  such  responsibility. 
Please  inquire  and  telegraph  me  to-night. 

D.  H.  CHAMBERLAIN. 

Mr.  Corbin  promptly  gave  the  dispatch  to  Mr.  Elaine,  glow 
ing  with  pleasure  at  the  thought  of  the  sensation  he  had  a  few 
hours  before  created  in  the  Senate;  and  this  dispatch  Mr.  Elaine 
introduced  with  dramatic  effect  in  his  further  attack  of  March  7, 
already  referred  to,  although  he  knew  at  the  time  that  the  letters 
had  not  been  authorized  by  the  President.  Looking  directly  at 
Mr.  Sherman,  he  demanded  to  know  who  would  stand  sponsor 
for  such  letters.  For  two  or  three  days,  about  Washington  and 
in  the  press,  there  was  a  buzz  of  criticism  of  Mr.  Matthews's 
superserviceable  attempt  to  relieve  the  Administration  of  the 
South  Carolina  complication.  Then,  on  March  11,  the  letters 
were  published,  as  follows :  — 

WASHINGTON  CITY,  March  4,  1877. 
HON.  D.  H.  CHAMBERLAIN,  COLUMBIA,  S.C. :  — 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  not  the  honor  of  a  personal  acquaintance 
with  you,  but  have  learned  to  respect  you  from  my  knowledge  of  your 
reputation.  I  take  the  liberty  of  addressing  you  now,  with  great  distrust 
of  the  propriety  of  doing  so,  prefacing  it  by  saying  that  I  speak  without 
authority  from  any  one,  and  represent  only  my  own  views.  The  situation 
of  public  affairs  in  South  Carolina  is  too  complicated  to  be  discussed  at 
length  in  a  note,  and  yet  impresses  me  as  one  that  ought  to  be  changed 
by  the  policy  of  Republican  statesmen  in  such  a  way  as  not  only  to 
remove  all  the  controversies  that  disturb  that  State,  but  to  remove 
all  embarrassments  arising  from  it  to  the  party  in  other  parts  of  the 
country. 

It  has  occurred  to  me  to  suggest  whether,  by  your  own  concurrence 
and  cooperation,  an  accommodation  could  not  be  arrived  at  which  would 
obviate  the  necessity  for  the  use  of  federal  arms  to  support  either  gov 
ernment,  and  leave  that  to  stand  which  was  best  able  to  stand  of  itself. 
Such  a  course  would  relieve  the  Administration  from  the  necessity,  so 
far  as  executive  action  is  concerned,  of  making  any  decision  between  the 


44  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

conflicting  governments  and  would  place  you  in  a  position  of  making  the 
sacrifice  of  what  you  deemed  your  abstract  rights,  for  the  sake  of  the 
peace  of  the  community,  which  would  entitle  you  to  the  gratitude,  not 
only  of  your  own  party,  but  the  respect  and  esteem  of  the  entire  country. 

I  trust  you  will  pardon  the  liberty  I  have  taken,  as  my  motive  is  to 
promote  not  only  the  public  but  your  personal  good. 

With  great  respect, 

STANLEY  MATTHEWS. 

[Mr.  Evarts's  endorsement.] 

DEAR  GOVERNOR,  —  I  have  read  this  letter  and  conversed  with  Colo 
nel  Haskell  and  Senator  Gordon  on  this  subject  so  interesting  to  us 
all.  I  should  be  very  glad  to  aid  in  a  solution  of  the  difficulties  of  the 
situation  and  especially  to  hear  from  you  speedily.      \ 
With  my  compliments  to  Mrs.  Chamberlain,  yours  very  truly, 

WILLIAM  M.  EVARTS. 

It  was  seen  at  once  that  there  was  nothing  here  that  any 
patriotic  and  public-spirited  man  might  not  have  written,  and 
that  there  was  no  ground  for  condemning  the  writers.1  In  any 
event,  the  letters  did  not  compromise  the  President  nor  in  the 
least  embarrass  him.  And  the  Republicans  of  Ohio  were  evi 
dently  not  displeased  with  Mr.  Matthews's  course,  for  March  15 
they  gave  him  the  caucus  nomination  for  Senator.2  This  action 
was  most  gratifying  to  the  President,  who  wrote  in  his  diary 
(March  16) :  — 

This  is  an  endorsement  of  the  policy  of  peace  and  home  rule  —  of 
local  self-government.  A  number  of  Southern  Republican  Members  are 
reported  ready  to  go  over  to  the  Democrats.  On  the  other  hand,  the  bar 
of  this  District  are  in  a  state  of  mind  because  Fred  Douglass,  the  most 
distinguished  colored  man  in  the  nation,  has  been  nominated  Marshal 
of  the  District.  If  a  liberal  policy  toward  late  Rebels  is  adopted,  the 
ultra  Republicans  are  opposed  to  it;  if  the  colored  people  are  honored, 

1  "The  letters  from  Stanley  Matthews  and  Mr.  Evarts  to  Governor  Chamber 
lain  do  not  seem  to  justify  the  excitement  under  which  Mr.  Chamberlain  tele 
graphed  to  Washington  for  an  explanation.  In  the  first  place,  Messrs.  Matthews 
and  Evarts  wrote  on  their  own  responsibility,  and  offered  their  advice  in  a  modest 
and  friendly  spirit,  showing  no  disposition  to  dictate,  but  venturing  only  a  rather 
vague  suggestion.  In  the  second  place,  the  advice  —  if  we  can  call  it  by  such  a 
positive  term  —  was  good."    (New  York  Tribune,  editorial,  March  13.) 

2  Mr.  Garfield  was  at  first  an  active  candidate  for  the  succession  to  Mr.  Sher 
man's  seat.   But  on  the  advice  of  Mr.  Hayes,  who  urged  that  his  services  were 
much  more  needed  and  would  be  much  more  valuable  as  leader  of  his  party  in  the 
House,  Mr.  Garfield  withdrew  from  the  contest.  Captious  newspapers  criticized 
Mr.  Hayes  severely  for  interfering  with  his  perfectly  proper  counsel. 


THE   SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  45 

the  extremists  of  the  other  wing  cry  out  against  it.  I  suspect  I  am  right 
in  both  cases. 

Different  plans  for  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina  are  offered:  1.  A 
new  election.  2.  Lawful  action  of  Legislatures.  3.  Acknowledge  Pack 
ard  and  Chamberlain,  and  leave  them  to  their  own  state  remedies.  4. 
Withdraw  troops  and  leave  events  to  take  care  of  themselves. 

Here  I  am  too  crowded  with  business  to  give  thought  to  these  ques 
tions.  Let  me  get  a  few  outside  opinions.  Judge  Dickson. 

But  already  he  had  given  much  thought  to  the  whole  subject, 
as  his  letter  of  acceptance,  his  inaugural  address,  and  the  many 
expressions  in  his  letters  and  interviews  abundantly  testify.  He 
had  no  doubts  as  to  the  end  to  be  attained;  it  was  only  the  precise 
method  of  attaining  that  end  about  which  he  was  undecided; 
and,  despite  the  protestation  just  quoted,  it  is  clear  that,  with 
all  the  multifarious  cares  and  duties  that  were  demanding  his 
attention  and  requiring  instant  decision,  "  these  questions"  were 
constantly  upon  his  mind;  and  were  at  once  made  the  subject 
of  Cabinet  discussion.  March  20,  Mr.  Hayes  writes:  — 

Cabinet  meeting  at  10  A.M.;  all  present.  .  .  .  Louisiana  troubles  dis 
cussed.  All  but  Devens  seem  indisposed  to  use  force  to  uphold  Packard's 
Government,  and  he  is  not  decidedly  for  it.  All  finally  agreed  to  send  a 
commission  to  Louisiana.  .  .  .  Mr.  Evarts  is  of  opinion  that  the  military 
can't  be  used  to  sustain  one  government  against  another  in  case  of  con 
tested  elections.  The  States  must  take  care  of  these  matters  themselves. 

I  incline  to  think  that  the  people  will  not  now  sustain  the  policy  of 
upholding  a  State  Government  against  a  rival  government  by  the  use 
of  the  forces  of  the  United  States.  If  this  leads  to  the  overthrow  of 
the  de  jure  Government  in  a  State,  the  de  facto  Government  must  be 
recognized. 

And  the  next  day :  — 

Cabinet  meeting  full.  .  .  .  Talked  over  commission  to  Louisiana. 
Decided  to  send  Wheeler,  Brown,  Hoar,  Harlan,  and  Lamar.  If  Wheeler 
fails,  then  President  Woolsey  vice  Judge  Davis.  Davis  was  preferred, 
but  he  declined.  He  advised  the  commission;  thought  it  would  do 
good. 

Two  days  later :  — 

It  is  not  the  duty  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  use  the 
military  power  of  the  nation  to  decide  contested  elections  in  the  States. 
He  will  maintain  the  authority  of  the  United  States  and  keep  the  peace 
between  the  contending  parties.  But  local  self-government  means  the 
determination  by  each  State  for  itself  of  all  questions  as  to  its  own  local 


46  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

affairs.  The  real  thing  to  be  achieved  is  safety  and  prosperity  for  the 
colored  people.  Both  houses  of  Congress  and  the  public  opinion  of  the 
country  are  plainly  against  the  use  of  the  army  to  uphold  either  claim 
ant  to  the  State  Government  in  case  of  contest.  The  wish  is  to  restore 
harmony  and  good  feeling  between  sections  and  races.  This  can  only  be 
done  by  peaceful  methods.  We  wish  to  adjust  the  difficulties  in  Louisi 
ana  "and  South  Carolina  so  as  to  make  one  government  out  of  two  in 
each  State.  But  if  this  fails  —  if  no  adjustment  can  be  made  —  we 
must  then  adopt  the  non-intervention  policy,  except  so  far  as  may  be 
necessary  to  keep  the  peace. 

Thus  in  these  few  days  the  President,  with  all  the  other  things 
that  occupied  his  attention,  had  thought  himself  clear  on  the 
essential  elements  of  the  problem  and  had  come  to  a  definite 
and  decided  conclusion  in  regard  to  the  limits  of  his  authority 
in  the  premises  and  the  course  that  he  should  pursue.  Mr. 
Hayes  was  always  deliberate  in  making  up  his  mind  when  a 
question  of  large  importance  came  before  him  for  decision,  both 
because  he  wished  to  be  fully  informed  of  all  the  pertinent  facts 
relating  thereto,  and  because  he  wished  thoroughly  to  go  over  in 
his  mind  the  probable  consequences  involved  in  any  decision 
and  to  satisfy  himself  of  its  wisdom  and  justice.  But  once  his 
understanding  and  reflection  had  brought  him  to  a  determinate 
judgment  in  any  case,  he  was  prepared  to  maintain  his  position 
with  resolute  courage  and  to  execute  his  purpose  without  hesita 
tion  or  wavering.  In  reaching  his  conclusion  in  this  instance  Mr. 
Hayes  had  not  only  had  the  counsel  of  his  Cabinet,  but  he  had 
listened  patiently  to  delegations  of  prominent  men  from  Louis 
iana  and  South  Carolina,  who  had  pressed  upon  him  informa 
tion,  argument,  and  appeal  in  behalf  of  one  or  the  other  of  the 
rival  claimants  to  authority  in  each  of  the  disturbed  Common 
wealths.1 

1  Mr.  Hayes  was  much  impressed  in  considering  the  Louisiana  situation  by 
the  following  letter:  — 

NEW  ORLEANS,  LA., 

March  24. 
HON.  R.  B.  HAYES,  President. 

HONORED  AND  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  been  in  New  Orleans  for  the  past  week,  and 
knowing  how  difficult  it  is  to  get  at  the  truth  of  things,  have  thought  it  may  be  of 
use  to  tell  you  my  impressions.  As  I  am  quite  well  acquainted  here  and  mix  freely 
with  all  classes,  and  as  I  am  under  no  suspicion  of  interested  motives  or  of  having 
an  "official  duty"  to  discharge,  my  opportunities  for  learning  the  real  feeling  of 
the  community  have  been  reasonably  good,  although  I  claim  no  special  skill  of 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  47 

The  announcement  of  the  decision  to  dispatch  a  commission 
to  Louisiana  was  made  to  the  public  on  March  21.  It  was  re 
ceived  with  varying  emotions.  Those  who  had  hoped  for  an 

interpretation.  If  you  should  attach  sufficient  importance  to  it  to  inquire  who  I 
am,  you  can  do  so  from  Hon.  Carl  Schurz  or  General  Sherman. 

The  result  in  my  mind  is  that,  whatever  abstract  justice  may  seem  to  demand 
under  a  strict  construction  of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment,  the  recognition  of  Pack 
ard  involves  the  present  and  continued  maintenance  of  his  authority  by  United 
States  military  forces.  Upon  this  point  there  is  no  difference  of  opinion  here.  As 
to  its  being  a  quiet,  though  enforced,  maintenance,  people  differ.  My  own  opin 
ion  is  that  there  would  be  frequent  strife,  an  increase  of  bitter  feeling,  in  short,  a 
continuance  of  suppressed  rebellion  ready  to  break  out  at  a  moment's  notice,  and 
on  slight  provocation,  in  every  part  of  the  State.  It  must  be  a  strong  and  visible 
rule  of  evident  and  recognized  power,  at  the  best.  Nothing  less  will  do.  The  white 
population  of  the  city  and  State  is  almost  unanimous  in  refusal  to  submit  to  the 
"Packard  Control"  except  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  Under  Mr.  Packard  the 
Government  at  Washington  would  be  the  Government  of  Louisiana,  except  that 
the  details  would  be  administered  by  incompetent,  timid,  and  half-educated  men. 
I  was  yesterday  in  the  Republican  Legislature,  both  House  and  Senate,  and  also 
in  Mr.  Packard's  parlor,  and  although  I  am  and  always  have  been  a  "  Republican" 
and  in  every  way  on  the  Freedom  side,  I  must  frankly  say  that  I  should  not  be 
willing  to  trust  my  interests  to  the  influences  and  men  which  there  control.  A 
large  majority  of  the  Legislature  is  composed  of  colored  people,  who  are  certainly 
not  above  the  average  of  respectable  negroes  in  our  cities,  and  the  white  members, 
if  I  may  judge  by  appearance  and  manners,  are  a  very  second-rate  sort  of  men. 
Any  one  individual  of  decided  ability  and  fair  parliamentary  training  could  easily 
control  the  whole  Assembly.  I  cannot  wonder  at  the  unwillingness  of  property- 
holders  and  educated  people  to  be  under  the  rule  of  such  bodies  of  men,  even  if 
legally  elected;  but  add  to  this  the  universal  conviction  here  that  the  majority 
of  them  were  not  so  elected,  and  the  obstinacy  of  resistance  is  the  natural  and 
unavoidable  result. 

2.  If  the  "troops"  are  withdrawn  without  a  distinct  recognition  of  either 
party,  the  Packard  Government  will  be  compelled  quickly  to  give  way.  I  doubt 
if  it  could  continue  a  wreek;  many  think  not  an  hour.  The  moderate  and  most 
intelligent  conservatives  say  that  no  attack  would  be  made  and  no  compulsion 
used,  and  the  leaders  wrould  honestly  try  to  prevent  it;  but  the  young  men  and 
lower  classes  would  be  with  difficulty  restrained,  and  the  fear  excited  would  be 
such  that  no  legislative  or  other  body  would  dare  to  meet.  I  find  the  women,  both 
mothers  and  wives,  much  more  outspoken  and  bitter  than  the  men,  and  the  whole 
social  influence  in  all  circles,  especially  the  highest  (and  including  the  religious), 
is  in  favor  of  strong  and  summary  measures.  At  all  events,  in  one  way  or  the 
other  the  Packard  party  would  soon  subside,  with  or  without  protest,  having  no 
inherent  strength,  if  left  without  external  support.  The  Nicholls  Government 
would  then  exist  de  facto  if  not  dejure,  and  would  soon  of  necessity  be  the  rec 
ognized  Government  of  the  State.  Whether  or  not  it  is  possible  distinctly  to 
"recognize"  Nicholls,  I  do  not  pretend  to  decide.  If  the  question  could  have 
been  divided  at  the  election,  so  as  to  get  the  real  sentiments  of  the  people,  it  is 
not  improbable  that  the  Republican  electoral  ticket,  and  the  state  Democratic, 
would  have  prevailed.  I  find  almost  no  opposition  to  the  national  ticket  at 
present,  but,  on  the  contrary,  a  prevailing  contentment,  which  might  easily  be 


48  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

immediate  withdrawal  of  the  troops  were  disappointed,  and 
were  fearful  lest  the  commission  plan  indicated  a  shunning  of 
responsibility  by  the  President  or  a  weakening  of  the  purpose 

converted  into  enthusiastic  support.  Certainly,  taking  things  as  they  are,  the 
question  is  clearly  divisible,  in  equity  at  least,  for  in  their  local  affairs  the  great 
est  possible  latitude  of  choice  should  be  allowed,  and  those  who  hold  the  chief 
interests  of  the  State  should  be  permitted  to  control  them. 

3.  Under  Democratic  rule  it  is  not  probable,  I  fear,  that  the  spirit  of  the  Fif 
teenth  Amendment  will  be  kept,  and  scarcely  the  letter  of  it,  for  some  years  to 
come.  Things  will  settle  down  to  about  the  same  level  as  in  Mississippi  and  Ala 
bama,  and  when  the  blacks  are  in  the  majority  or  approximating  it,  they  will  be 
"discouraged"  from  voting,  with  whatever  degree  of  moral  or  physical  force  may 
be  necessary  to  secure  the  end.  They  will  be  entirely  free  to  vote  the  Democratic 
ticket  and  beyond  that  will  have  freedom  with  penalty,  if  at  all.  But  gradually 
that  will  improve,  as  the  colored  people  advance  in  thrift  and  intelligence,  as  new 
social  and  political  issues  arise,  and  as  the  educational  interests  of  the  South  are 
better  regarded.  In  the  last  element  the  only  sure  hope  for  the  future  is  found, 
and  if  an  education  test  or  qualification  for  voting  could  be  secured  by  amend 
ment  of  the  Constitution,  we  might  reasonably  hope  for  enduring  peace. 

Such  results  will  be  slow  and  not  quite  satisfactory,  but  in  no  other  direction  is 
the  outlook  equally  good.  I  was  in  New  Orleans  (in  charge  of  a  congregation) 
part  of  the  two  winters  immediately  succeeding  the  war,  and  am  sorry  to  say 
that  nothing  has  been  gained  since  that  time.  Both  the  color  line  and  the  party 
line  are  more  marked;  political  and  social  animosity  is  plainly  increased.  A  whole 
generation  of  young  people  has  grown  up,  deeply  imbued  with  a  sense  of  injustice 
suffered  and  wrongs  endured,  so  that  nothing  but  the  hopelessness  of  resistance 
prevents  an  outbreak.  The  continuance  of  such  a  condition  of  things  is  neither 
safe  nor  wise,  even  if  practicable.  From  good  authority  I  can  state  that  ten  thou 
sand  armed  militia  (no  longer  called  White  League)  in  New  Orleans,  and  thirty- 
five  thousand  in  the  other  parishes,  are  ready  at  a  moment's  notice.  They  are  well 
and  carefully  drilled,  ably  officered,  and  held  under  constraint  by  strict  military 
discipline.  They  are  willing  to  serve  at  then-  own  costs,  if  possible,  and,  when 
needed,  voluntary  supplies  of  money  come  in.  Such  an  organization  of  men,  with 
the  belief  that  their  cause  is  just,  cannot  be  regarded  with  indifference,  scarcely 
without  fear,  particularly  when  we  remember  that  the  whole  South  is  in  hearty 
sympathy  with  them.  I  am  very  sure  that  some  method  must  be  found  of  concili 
ation,  —  without  sacrifice  of  the  national  dignity,  —  and  I  believe  that  the  hard 
ships  consequent  to  the  colored  people,  even  if  great,  will  be  far  less  than  in  a 
continuance  of  the  past  policy  of  government  ab  extra,  which  will  soon  be  nothing 
else  than  a  social  war  of  races,  in  which  the  weaker  must  surely  be  crushed.  Few 
men  have  worked  harder  for  the  Union  cause  or  for  the  colored  race,  both  slaves 
and  freedmen,  than  I  have,  in  my  humble  way;  but  I  would  not  shrink  from  the 
responsibility  of  the  new  policy,  if  it  were  mine  to  take,  and  with  it  whatever 
blame  might  come,  of  which  I  know  there  would  be  a  vast  deal.  "He  serves  his 
party  best  who  serves  his  country  best,"  and  the  moral  courage  of  moderation  is 
often  greater  than  that  of  force. 

I  trust  you  will  pardon  me,  Mr.  President,  for  this  intrusion.  My  letter  was 
begun  in  New  Orleans,  and  I  have  written  much  of  it  in  the  railroad  cars  on  my 
way  home,  where  I  arrived  a  few  hours  ago;  it  has  therefore  been  written  hastily, 
perhaps  badly,  but  the  opinions  expressed  have  been  deliberately  formed,  after 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  49 

of  conciliatory  action  foreshadowed  by  his  public  utterances. 
Conservative  men  and  journals,  however,  recognizing  the  enor 
mous  difficulties  of  the  situation,  as  well  as  the  necessity  of  win 
ning  the  support  of  intelligent  public  opinion  for  the  action 
finally  taken,  welcomed  the  commission  plan  as  a  wise  prelimi 
nary  step. 

It  was  some  days  before  the  personnel  of  the  commission  was 
finally  settled,  as  Vice-President  Wheeler  and  certain  of  the 
other  men,  first  thought  of  for  members,  preferred  for  one  reason 
or  another  not  to  serve.  Meanwhile  the  South  Carolina  case 
was  taken  up.  This  bristled  with  fewer  difficulties  than  that 
of  Louisiana,  inasmuch  as  South  Carolina  did  not  present  the 
spectacle  of  dual  Supreme  Courts.  It  was  perfectly  apparent 
that  all  the  conservative  and  intelligent  forces  of  society  were 
behind  Hampton,1  who  was  shown  to  be  elected  by  a  canvass 
of  the  same  votes  that  gave  a  majority  to  the  Hayes  electors. 
Moreover,  he  was  supported  by  the  courts  and  the  civil  officers 
of  the  State;  and  every  one  knew  that  he  had  only  to  say  the 
word  and  volunteer  militia  would  hasten  to  sustain  and  defend 
his  authority;  while  Chamberlain  could  not  command  a  cor 
poral's  guard,  and  had  no  hope  that  his  Government  could  be 
established  or  maintained  except  by  the  continuous  employ 
ment  of  federal  troops  to  protect  him  and  enforce  his  authority. 
Mr.  Hayes  could  see  no  need  of  sending  a  commission  to  South 
Carolina.  Instead  of  this  device,  he  prepared  the  way  for  the 
action  he  was  now  fully  determined  to  take,  by  inviting  both 
Chamberlain  and  Hampton  to  come  to  Washington  for  a  personal 

careful  examination  of  facts  and  in  opposition  to  my  antecedent  wishes.  I  feel 
sure  that  they  are  substantially  correct  and  that  time  will  verify  them. 

Earnestly  praying  for  the  complete  and  perfect  success  of  your  Administration, 
and  feeling  confident  of  it, 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain 

Your  Friend  and  Servant, 

W.  G.  ELIOT. 
ST.  Louis,  March  26,  1877. 

1  "The  South  Carolina  controversy  has  almost  settled  itself.  All  that  remains 
of  it  is  merely  a  contest  for  the  possession  of  the  rooms  in  the  State  House,  and 
of  the  books  and  records  kept  in  them.  The  Chamberlain  officials  occupy  these 
rooms  under  the  protection  of  the  federal  soldiers,  but  they  exercise  no  other 
functions  of  office  whatever."  (Columbia  correspondence  New  York  Tribune, 
March  29,  1877.) 


50  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

conference  with  him.1  He  would  thus  obtain  directly  the  fullest 
possible  authoritative  information  of  the  state  of  the  contro 
versy,  and  of  the  pretensions  and  purposes  of  the  two  con 
testants;  he  could  present  his  own  views,  and  he  could  demand 
assurances  against  the  possibility  of  riotous  action  or  warlike 
demonstration.  The  two  men  promptly  signified  their  accept 
ance  of  the  President's  invitation,2  though  there  were  extreme 
partisans  of  each  ready  to  advise  them  to  refuse  the  courteous 
summons. 

1  The  invitation  was  dated  March  23,  and  was  written,  under  direction,  by  the 
President's  private  secretary.   It  declared  to  the  two  men  the  President's  "pur 
pose  to  take  into  immediate  consideration  the  position  of  affairs  in  South  Caro 
lina  with  a  view  of  determining  the  course"  which  his  duty  might  require  him  to 
take.  He  desired,  therefore,  a  personal  conference,  as  he  thought  that "  the  readi 
est  and  best  mode"  of  obtaining  their  "views  as  to  the  political  condition"  of  the 
State.  If  they  could  not  come  to  Washington,  he  would  "be  glad  to  receive  any 
communication  from  you  in  writing,  or  through  any  delegate  possessing  your 
confidence  that  will  convey  to  him  your  views  of  the  impediments  to  the  peaceful 
and  orderly  organization  of  a  single  and  undisputed  State  Government  in  South 
Carolina,  and  of  the  best  methods  of  removing  them."  The  invitation  ended  with 
this  paragraph:  — 

"  It  is  the  earnest  desire  of  the  President  to  be  able  to  put  an  end  as  speedily  as 
possible  to  all  appearance  of  intervention  of  the  military  authority  of  the  United 
States  in  the  political  derangements  which  affect  the  Government  and  afflict  the 
people  of  South  Carolina.  In  this  desire  the  President  cannot  doubt  he  truly  rep 
resents  the  patriotic  feeling  of  the  great  body  of  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
It  is  impossible  that  the  protracted  disorder  in  the  domestic  government  of  any 
State  can  or  should  ever  fail  to  be  a  matter  of  lively  interest  and  solicitude  to 
the  people  of  the  whole  country.  In  furtherance  of  the  prompt  and  safe  execution 
of  this  general  purpose  he  invites  a  full  communication  of  your  opinions  on  the 
whole  subject  in  such  one  of  the  proposed  forms  as  may  seem  to  you  most  useful." 

2  Mr.  Chamberlain  telegraphed  that  he  would  start  for  Washington  as  soon 
as  the  letter  of  invitation  was  received.  General  Hampton  awaited  the  receipt  of 
the  letter,  and  then,  March  26,  wrote  his  acceptance  of  the  invitation  "  through 
motives  of  proper  courtesy,"  though  he  could  "  not  hope  to  throw  additional 
light  on  the  questions"  at  issue.   But  he  added,  in  rather  questionable  taste:  — 

"  I  shall  avail  myself  of  your  invitation,  so  that  I  may  reiterate  in  person  what 
I  have  the  honor  to  submit  in  writing:  That  in  my  judgment  all  impediments  to 
the  objects  so  earnestly  desired  by  yourself  and  so  anxiously  expected  by  the  peo 
ple  of  this  State  can  at  once  be  removed  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  federal  troops 
from  the  State  House.  .  .  .  [That  done],  whatever  grievances  exist,  whatever 
wrongs  we  suffer,  we  propose  to  redress  them,  not  by  a  resort  to  force,  but  by 
legal  and  constitutional  agencies.  In  seeking  such  redress  I  feel  sure  that  I  repre 
sent  fully  the  determination  of  the  thoughtful  and  conservative  portion  of  our 
people  when  I  give  the  assurance  that  no  proscription  shall  be  exercised  here  on 
account  of  political  opinions;  that  no  discrimination  shall  be  made  in  the  adminis 
tration  of  justice;  and  that  all  citizens  of  both  parties,  and  both  parties  and  both 
races,  shall  be  regarded  as  fully  protected  by  and  amenable  to  the  laws." 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  51 

Mr.  Chamberlain  reached  Washington  March  27  and  Gen 
eral  Hampton  two  days  later.  At  Wilmington,  North  Carolina, 
and  at  Richmond  great  throngs  of  people  met  the  latter's  train 
and  addresses  of  greeting  and  encouragement  were  made  to  him. 
On  both  occasions  he  replied,  declaring  that  all  he  was  going  to 
Washington  to  ask  was  that  the  federal  troops  be  withdrawn 
from  the  State  House  and  that  the  government  of  South  Caro 
lina  be  left  to  the  men  that  were  strong  enough  to  maintain  it. 
At  his  hotel  in  Washington  he  was  constantly  besieged  by  men 
eager  to  show  him  attention.1  Prolonged  conferences  were  had 
between  the  President  and  each  of  the  rival  Governors,  in  which 
every  phase  of  the  dispute,  together  with  the  social  and  political 
conditions  and  the  state  of  public  sentiment  in  South  Carolina, 
was  thoroughly  canvassed.  Members  of  the  Cabinet  also  had 
opportunity  to  discuss  the  situation  with  the  two  Governors. 
Despite  the  eloquence  and  insistence  with  which  Mr.  Chamber 
lain  pleaded  his  cause  and  urged  continuance  of  federal  protec 
tion,  he  must  soon  have  felt  in  the  very  atmosphere  of  Washing 
ton  that  he  was  fighting  a  losing  game;  that  the  epoch  in  which 
he  had  played  so  conspicuous  and  on  the  whole  so  creditable  a 
part  was  drawing  rapidly  to  a  close.  On  March  30  he  submitted 
to  the  President  a  plan  for  a  commission  to  recanvass  the  votes, 
which  was  quite  impracticable,  as  it  would  have  been  without 
legal  sanction.  The  following  day  the  Cabinet  considered  the 
whole  situation,  and,  at  the  close  of  the  meeting,  the  President 
announced  that  orders  for  the  removal  of  the  troops  from  the 
State  House  at  Columbia  would  be  given  to  take  effect  as  soon 
as  Messrs.  Chamberlain  and  Hampton  had  returned  to  that 
city.2  The  announcement  was  received  with  great  jubilation  by 
the  friends  of  Hampton,  with  bitter  reproaches  by  the  implac 
able  radicals,  and  with  a  deep  sense  of  satisfaction  and  relief  by 

1  "  Governor  Hampton  has  been  made  a  lion  in  every  place  since  he  set  foot  in 
the  Capital.   Early  this  morning  the  corridors  of  Willard's  Hotel  were  crowded 
with  people  anxious  to  get  a  peep  at  him.  Cards  by  the  hundred  were  sent  to  his 
room,  though  not  one  in  ten  of  them  was  he  able  to  answer."   (Washington  cor 
respondence  New  York  Tribune,  March  30.) 

2  "The  point  of  the  President's  determination  is  not  that  Hampton  has  the 
better  claim  to  the  office;  his  decision  is  merely  that  it  is  not  his  place  to  decide. 
South  Carolina  must  arrange  this  matter  for  herself.  .  .  .   The  troops  are  to  be 
removed  only  because  they  have  no  business  in  their  present  position."    (New 
York  Tribune,  editorial,  April  3,  1877.) 


52  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

the  better  public  opinion  of  the  country.  At  last  —  at  last,  the 
end  of  "reconstruction,"  with  all  its  temporary  and  temporizing 
expedients,  with  all  its  doubtful  straining  of  federal  authority, 
with  all  its  interferences  in  local  affairs  by  the  Government  at 
Washington,  —  necessary  or  justifiable  though  these  may  have 
been,  —  was  now  in  sight.  Hereafter  every  State,  however  much 
it  might  have  sinned  in  the  past,  was  to  be,  so  far  as  the  National 
Government  was  concerned,  the  exact  equal  in  all  rights  and 
immunities  of  every  other  State  —  unrestricted  and  uncon 
trolled,  within  constitutional  limits,  to  work  out  its  own  destiny 
for  weal  or  for  woe. 

Mr.  Chamberlain  yielded  to  the  inevitable,  after  addressing 
on  March  31  to  the  President  a  vigorous  defense  of  his  claims 
and  an  almost  pathetic  plea  for  a  continuance  of  federal  support. 
But  his  very  defense  revealed  the  helplessness  of  his  situation. 
Any  thought  of  sustaining  himself  by  reliance  on  his  own  fol 
lowers  and  supporters  in  the  State  he  declared  would  be  "mad 
ness."  If  the  President  and  his  Cabinet  had  needed  any  further 
evidence  that  South  Carolina  was  able  —  as  it  had  the  absolute 
right  —  to  settle  its  own  dispute  peaceably,  this  was  supplied 
by  Mr.  Chamberlain's  communication. 

The  President's  decision  became  effective  by  the  delivery  of 
the  following  letter:  — 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION, 
WASHINGTON,  D.C.,  AprU  3,  1877. 

SIR:  Prior  to  my  entering  upon  the  duties  of  the  Presidency  there 
had  been  stationed  by  order  of  my  predecessor  in  the  State  House  at 
Columbia,  South  Carolina,  a  detachment  of  United  States  infantry. 
Finding  them  in  that  place,  I  have  thought  proper  to  delay  a  decision 
of  the  question  of  their  removal  until  I  could  consider  and  determine 
whether  the  condition  of  affairs  in  that  State  is  now  such  as  either  to 
require  or  justify  the  continued  military  occupation  of  the  State  House. 

In  my  opinion  there  does  not  now  exist  in  that  State  such  domestic 
violence  as  is  contemplated  by  the  Constitution  as  the  ground  upon 
which  the  military  power  of  the  National  Government  may  be  invoked 
for  the  defense  of  the  State.  There  are,  it  is  true,  grave  and  serious  dis 
putes  as  to  the  rights  of  certain  claimants  to  the  chief  executive  office  of 
that  State.  But  these  are  to  be  settled  and  determined,  not  by  the  Execu 
tive  of  the  United  States,  but  by  such  orderly  and  peaceable  methods  as 
may  be  provided  by  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  State.  I  feel  as 
sured  that  no  resort  to  violence  is  contemplated  in  any  quarter,  but  that, 
on  the  contrary,  the  disputes  in  question  are  to  be  settled  solely  by  such 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  53 

peaceful  remedies  as  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  State  provide. 
Under  these  circumstances,  in  this  confidence,  I  now  deem  it  proper  to 
take  action  in  accordance  with  the  principles  announced  when  I  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  the  Presidency. 

You  are,  therefore,  directed  to  see  that  the  proper  orders  are  issued 
for  the  removal  of  said  troops  from  the  State  House  to  their  previous 
place  of  encampment. 

R.  B.  HAYES. 

To  HON.  GEORGE  W.  McCEARY, 
Secretary  of  War. 

In  accordance  with  this  direction  the  proper  orders  were  given 
for  the  withdrawal  of  the  soldiers  from  the  State  House  at  noon 
on  Tuesday,  April  10.  On  that  date  the  troops  withdrew  to  their 
barracks,  and  Mr.  Chamberlain  quietly  surrendered  his  office 
to  Governor  Hampton.  The  day  passed  without  any  sort  of 
demonstration.  Mr.  Chamberlain,  however,  signalized  the  occa 
sion  by  issuing  an  address  to  the  Republicans  of  South  Caro 
lina,  in  which,  with  perhaps  pardonable  asperity  in  view  of  his 
personal  disappointment,  he  reasserted  the  righteousness  of  his 
claims  and  argued  the  injustice  of  the  refusal  of  further  national 
protection;  but  he  recognized  the  futility  of  resistance  and  de 
clared  that  he  would  "no  longer  actively  assert  his  right  to  the 
office  of  Governor."  He  assured  his  fellow  partisans,  who  were 
so  deeply  wronged,  as  he  thought,  by  the  President's  action, 
that  "the  motives  and  purposes  of  the  President  in  his  policy 
were  unquestionably  honorable  and  patriotic";  and  he  "de 
voutly  prayed  that  events  might  vindicate  the  wisdom  of  his 
action." 

Within  a  few  days  all  the  state  offices  were  in  the  possession 
of  the  Democrats,  the  Legislature  was  called  in  special  session, 
a  reconciliation  of  the  dual  bodies  was  effected,  and  "events" 
of  peace  and  quiet  and  industry,  under  orderly  government, 
honest  administration,  and  courts  worthy  of  respect,  began 
rapidly  to  bring  about  that  vindication  of  the  President's  action 
for  which  Mr.  Chamberlain  had  devoutly  prayed.1 

1  Twenty-four  years  later,  in  a  calm  historic  review  of  "Reconstruction  in 
South  Carolina"  (Atlantic  Monthly,  April,  1901),  Governor  Chamberlain  wrote: 
"The  overthrow  of  Republicanism  or  negro  rule  in  South  Carolina  was  root-and- 
branch  work.  The  fabric  so  long  and  laboriously  built  up  fell  in  a  day.  Where  was 
fancied  to  be  strength  was  found  only  weakness.  The  vauntings  were  turned  to 
cringings  of  terror.  Poltroons  and  perjurers  made  haste  to  confess;  robbers  came 


54  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

The  tranquil  climax  of  the  South  Carolina  adjustment  was 
a  subject  of  profound  satisfaction  and  of  much  felicitation  to  the 
President.  It  made  the  way  easier  for  the  commission  which  by 
this  time  was  seeking  to  bring  order  out  of  chaos  in  Louisiana. 
The  commission  was  composed  of  Judge  Charles  B.  Lawrence, 
of  Illinois,  General  Joseph  R.  Hawley,  of  Connecticut,  General 
John  M.  Harlan,  of  Kentucky,  ex-Governor  John  C.  Brown, 
of  Tennessee,  and  Wayne  MacVeagh,  of  Pennsylvania.  These 
men  represented  all  parties,  and  their  high  character  and  popu 
lar  esteem  were  a  guaranty  alike  of  the  conscientiousness  and 
sobriety  of  judgment  with  which  they  would  enter  on  their 
duties,  and  of  public  confidence  in  the  wisdom  and  equity  of  any 
determination  in  which  they  should  agree.  The  task  before  them 
was  precisely  defined  in  a  letter  of  instructions,  written,  at  the 
President's  request,  by  Secretary  Evarts. 

The  President,  they  were  told,  found  the  situation  of  affairs 
in  Louisiana  such  as  to  demand  his  prompt  and  solicitous  at 
tention,  inasmuch  as  one  feature  of  it  was  "the  apparent  inter 
vention  of  the  military  power  of  the  United  States  in  the  domes 
tic  controversies"  of  the  State;  intervention  brought  about 
under  his  predecessor.  The  only  duty  of  the  President  now  was 
to  determine  the  extent  and  effect  of  this  intervention  and  to 
decide  when  and  how  to  end  it.  It  was  not  desired  that  the 
commission  should  examine  into  or  report  upon  the  facts  of  the 

forward  to  disgorge,  intent  only  on  personal  safety;  and  the  world  saw  an  old  phe 
nomenon  repeated,  —  the  essential  and  ineradicable  cowardice  and  servility  of 
conscious  wrong-doers.  The  avalanche  caught  the  innocent  with  the  guilty,  the 
patriot  and  reformer  with  the  corruptionist,  the  bribe-giver  and  bribe-taker.  It 
could  not  be  otherwise;  it  has  never  been  otherwise  in  such  convulsions.  ...  If 
there  is  any  interest  still  attaching  to  the  writer's  own  view,  he  is  quite  ready  now 
to  say  that  he  feels  sure  there  was  no  possibility  of  securing  permanent  good  gov 
ernment  in  South  Carolina  through  Republican  influences.  If  the  canvass  of  1876 
had  resulted  in  the  success  of  the  Republican  party,  that  party  could  not,  for 
want  of  materials,  even  wrhen  aided  by  the  Democratic  minority,  have  given  pure 
or  competent  administration.  The  vast  preponderance  of  ignorance  and  incapac 
ity  in  that  party,  aside  from  downright  dishonesty,  made  it  impossible.  .  .  .  How 
did  the  victors  use  their  victory?  The  just  answer  seems  to  be,  'Not  altogether 
well,'  but  emphatically,  'As  well  as  could  have  been  expected,'  —  as  well  as  the 
lot  and  nature  of  humanity  probably  permit.  Some  unfair,  unjust,  merely  angry 
blows  wrere  struck  after  the  victory  was  won.  For  the  rest,  forbearance  and  obliv 
ion  were  the  rule.  Good  government,  the  avowed  aim,  was  fully  secured.  Econ 
omy  succeeded  extravagance;  judicial  integrity  and  ability  succeeded  profligacy 
and  ignorance  on  the  bench;  all  the  conditions  of  public  welfare  were  restored." 


JOHN  M.    HARLAX 


WAYNE   MACVEAGH 


CHARLES  B.   LAWRENCE 


JAMES  R.  HAWLEV  JOHN  C.   BUOWN 

THE  LOUISIANA  COMMISSION 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  55 

recent  state  election  or  of  the  canvass  of  the  votes.  The  reports 
of  the  committees  of  the  two  houses  of  Congress  had  covered 
that  ground.  What  the  President  desired  to  know,  in  order  to 
decide  on  his  executive  duty  in  the  premises,  was  what  were 
"the  real  impediments  to  regular,  legal,  and  peaceful  procedure 
under  the  laws  and  constitution  of  the  State  of  Louisiana  by 
which  the  anomalies  of  government  there  presented  may  be  put 
in  course  of  settlement  without  involving  the  element  of  mili 
tary  power  as  either  an  agent  or  a  make-weight  in  such  settle 
ment."  The  unusual  circumstances  attending  and  following  the 
state  election  and  canvass  may  have  delayed  the  assuagement 
of  the  feelings  engendered  by  a  close  and  zealous  political  con 
test.  But  the  President  hoped  that  the  mass  of  the  people  of  the 
State  were  "now  prepared  to  treat  the  unsettled  results  of  their 
state  election  with  a  calm  and  conciliatory  spirit." 

It  was  the  President's  wish  that  the  commission  should  strive 
first  to  remove  "the  obstacles  to  an  acknowledgment  of  one 
Government."  If  this  proved  impossible,  endeavor  should  be 
made  "to  accomplish  the  recognition  of  a  single  Legislature  as 
the  depositary  of  the  representative  will  of  the  people  of  Louis 
iana."  The  Legislature  "rescued  from  dispute,  the  rest  of  the 
problem  could  gradually  be  worked  out  by  the  prevalent  au 
thority  which  the  legislative  power,  when  undisputed,  is  quite 
competent  to  exert  in  composing  conflict  in  the  coordinate 
branches  of  the  Government." 

The  President  was  satisfied  by  attentive  consideration  of  the 
Constitution  and  the  acts  of  Congress  that  military  interven 
tion,  "in  determining  or  influencing  disputed  elections  in  a 
State,  is  most  carefully  to  be  avoided."  Of  course,  as  Mr. 
Evarts  continued :  — 

A  case  wherein  every  department  of  the  State  Government  has  a  dis 
puted  representation,  and  the  State,  therefore,  furnishes  to  the  Federal 
Government  no  internal  political  recognition  of  authority  upon  which 
the  Federal  Executive  can  rely,  will  present  a  case  of  so  much  difficulty 
that  it  is  of  pressing  importance  to  all  interests  in  Louisiana  that  it 
should  be  avoided.  A  single  Legislature  would  greatly  relieve  this  diffi 
culty,  for  that  department  of  the  State  Government  is  named  by  the 
Constitution  as  the  necessary  applicant,  when  it  can  be  convened,  for 
military  intervention  by  the  United  States.  If,  therefore,  the  disputing 
interests  can  concur  in  or  be  reduced  to  a  single  Legislature  for  the 


56  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

State  of  Louisiana,  it  would  be  a  great  step  in  composing  this  unhappy 
strife.  .  .  . 

A  second  and  less  important  subject  of  attention  during  your  visit  to 
New  Orleans  will  be  the  collection  of  accurate  and  trustworthy  informa 
tion  from  the  public  officers  and  prominent  citizens  of  all  political  con 
nections  as  to  the  state  of  public  feeling  and  opinion  in  the  community  at 
large  upon  the  general  questions  which  affect  the  peaceful  and  safe  exer 
cise,  within  the  State  of  Louisiana,  of  all  legal  and  political  rights,  and 
the  protection  of  all  legal  and  political  privileges  conferred  by  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  upon  all  citizens.  The  maintenance  and 
protection  of  these  rights  and  privileges,  by  all  constitutional  rreans, 
and  by  every  just,  moral,  and  social  influence,  are  the  settled  purpose  of 
the  President  in  his  administration  of  the  Government.  He  will  hope  to 
learn  from  your  investigations  that  this  purpose  will  be  aided  and  not 
resisted  by  the  substantial  and  effective  public  opinion  of  the  great  body 
of  the  people  of  Louisiana.  .  .  . 

The  whole  tenor  and  spirit  of  this  letter  are  so  reasonable  and 
conciliatory  and  the  suggested  method  of  adjustment  so  simple 
and  practical  that  it  impressed  the  patriotic  sense  of  the  coun 
try  with  the  propriety  of  the  President's  course.  Packard,  how 
ever,  at  once  addressed  a  long  letter  to  the  President  begging 
him  to  modify  the  instructions  so  as  to  direct  the  commission 
to  determine  which  Government  was  legal  and  entitled  to  recog 
nition;  which  judiciary  was  legal,  and  whether  domestic  vio 
lence  and  insurrection  within  the  meaning  of  the  Constitution 
prevailed.  But  the  President's  mind  was  so  firmly  convinced  of 
the  wisdom  of  the  course  already  decided  on  that  he  refused  to 
amplify  or  to  change  his  instruction.1 

Meanwhile  the  President  received  a  petition  from  New  Or 
leans,  signed  by  hundreds  of  the  leading  citizens,  —  bishops, 
pastors,  lawyers,  physicians,  bankers,  heads  of  insurance,  man 
ufacturing,  and  business  companies,  and  the  like,  —  praying 
for  the  immediate  withdrawal  of  military  support  from  the 
Packard  Government. 

We  call  your  attention  [the  petitioners  declared]  to  the  fact,  that  there 
is  no  other  Government  in  the  State  but  that  of  which  Mr.  Nicholls  is 
the  executive.  The  attempt  ...  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  State  by 
forcing  upon  it  the  so-called  Packard  Government  would  bring  about 
anarchy  and  civil  commotion  which  would  continue  as  long  as  federal 

1  Packard  wrote  the  President  a  second  letter,  of  similar  purport,  a  few  days 
later,  but  to  no  effect. 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  57 

interference  was  persisted  in.  The  pretense  to  existence  on  the  part  of 
that  Government  comes  only  from  the  support  afforded  by  the  forces  of 
the  general  Government.  The  troops  withdrawn  to  their  quarters,  it 
would  disappear  from  the  only  building  where  its  authority  or  even  its 
existence  is  recognized.  .  .  .  We  are  not  politicians.  We  have  no  favors 
to  ask  of  any  man.  We  have  no  offices  to  seek.  We  hope  and  believe 
that  the  President  of  the  United  States  will  recognize  without  further 
delay  the  right  of  American  citizens  to  self-government,  loyally  exer 
cised  under  the  law  and  Constitution.  ...  If  local  self-government  is 
given  us,  we  pledge  ourselves  for  the  loyalty  of  Louisiana  to  the  Union, 
for  the  protection  of  life  and  property  and  civil  rights  of  all  her  citizens, 
and  for  the  equal  benefit  of  her  laws,  without  distinction  of  race,  color, 
or  previous  condition. 

The  arrival  of  the  commission  in  New  Orleans  was  awaited 
with  mingled  hopes  and  misgivings  by  the  partisans  of  both 
Governments.  Both  sides  made  the  amplest  preparations  to 
present  in  the  most  persuasive  manner  the  facts  and  arguments 
on  which  they  relied  to  support  their  claims.  Undoubtedly  the 
Nicholls  supporters  were  the  more  confident  that  their  cause 
would  be  successful,  especially  after  the  downfall  of  Chamber 
lain.  So  many  and  various  were  the  conflicting  views  and  ambi 
tions  which  the  long  dispute  had  engendered  that  the  possibility 
of  attaining  a  common  ground  between  the  contestants  seemed 
almost  hopeless.  Packard,  who  was  in  a  state  of  virtual  siege  in 
the  old  St.  Louis  Hotel,  now  used  as  a  State  House,  beyond  the 
four  walls  of  which  he  was  unable  anywhere  in  the  State  to  make 
his  authority  respected,  stood  stubbornly  on  his  asserted  legal 
rights.1  Nicholls  and  his  Legislature  insisted  not  only  on  their 
rights,  which,  by  their  interpretation  of  the  constitution  and 
law,  were  valid,  but  also  on  the  fact  that  they  were  actually 
exercising  all  the  powers  of  government,  with  the  acquiescence, 
approval,  and  voluntary  support  of  the  great  body  of  the  in 
telligent  and  taxpaying  classes.2 

1  Packard  made  a  futile  effort  to  enlist  a  militia  force.  His  recruiting  agents 
were  promptly  arrested  by  the  Nicholls  police. 

2  "The  situation  is  as  follows:  The  rival  Legislatures  are  both  in  session  pass 
ing  laws.  Packard  holds  possession  of  the  State  House  with  five  hundred  met 
ropolitan  police  armed  with  muskets.   The  United  States  troops  are  quartered 
in  the  adjoining  building.   Packard's  authority  is  limited  to  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  State  House  and  the  four  streets  surrounding  it.   Within  this  territory  his 
guards  are  not  molested  by  Nicholls's  forces.  All  the  rest  of  the  city  is  under  the 
municipal  authority  which  has  recognized  Nicholls.  In  the  State,  out  of  eighteen 


58  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

On  the  very  day  that  the  commission  arrived  in  New  Orleans, 
April  6,  a  mass  meeting  of  citizens,  numbering  several  thousand, 
was  held.  It  adopted  a  series  of  resolutions,  expressive  of  the 
sentiment,  the  hopes,  and  the  determination  of  the  intelligent 
classes  of  the  State,  couched  in  dignified  but  earnest  phraseology. 
Absolute  loyalty  and  patriotic  purpose  were  declared,  while  the 
right  of  local  self-government,  "deprived  of  which  a  State  ceases 
to  exist  as  such  in  a  constitutional  sense,"  was  insisted  on. 
Belief  in  the  legitimacy  of  the  Nicholls  Government  was  af 
firmed  as  against  the  "pretended  Government"  of  Packard, 
which  had  not  "a  single  title  to  respect  and  confidence,"  and 
which,  except  for  "federal  interference,  would  disband  without 
the  uplifting  of  an  arm."  The  sentiments  of  the  President's 
inaugural  address  had  brought  cheer  and  hope,  and  despite  the 
disappointing  delay  of  action,  the  people  of  Louisiana,  appre 
ciating  the  difficulties  of  his  position,  had  "confidence  in  the 
sincerity  of  his  declarations."  They  welcomed  "the  eminent 
gentlemen"  of  the  commission  and  would  afford  them  "every 
facility  in  their  labors";  but  they  were  "opposed  to  any  com 
promise,  the  effect  of  which  would  be  ...  to  impair  the  exist 
ing  autonomy  of  the  Nicholls  Government."  They  were  glad 
of  the  presence  of  United  States  soldiers  when  engaged  in  "law 
ful  and  patriotic  duties";  and  now  they  asked  "nothing  of  the 
President  but  to  withdraw  them  from  the  upholding  of  a  pre 
tended  government,  and  the  performance  of  his  plain  constitu 
tional  duty  of  non-interference  except  in  case  of  domestic  in 
surrection,"  which  did  not  then  exist  and  which  they  pledged 
themselves  should  not  exist  in  the  State  of  Louisiana.  Finally, 
"  with  a  deep  sense  of  responsibility,  with  a  full  recognition  of 
all  our  [their]  obligations  as  citizens  of  the  Union,  in  no  spirit 
of  threatening  or  braggadocio,  with  a  profound  consciousness 
of  the  power  of  the  Federal  Government  and  of  our  [their] 

district  judges,  thirteen  have  recognized  Nicholls.  The  other  five  are  on  the 
fence.  All  the  county  officers  of  forty-three  parishes,  Republican  and  Demo 
cratic,  have  recognized  Nicholls  also.  In  five,  half  recognized  Packard  and  the 
other  half  Nicholls.  In  the  nine  remaining  parishes  the  officers  elected  in  No 
vember  have  not  qualified.  Two  hundred  and  forty  colored  men  elected  to  vari 
ous  offices  throughout  the  State  last  fall  are  said  by  Nicholls  to  have  qualified 
by  filing  oaths  with  his  Secretary  of  State.  Among  Nicholls's  appointees,  twenty- 
one  are  colored  men."  (New  York  Tribune,  dispatch  from  New  Orleans,  April 
4,  1877.) 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  59 

inability  to  resist  it,"  they  solemnly  declared  their  purpose: 
"Never  to  submit  to  the  pretended  Packard  Government;  never 
to  pay  it  a  dollar  of  taxes;  never  to  acknowledge  its  authority; 
but  to  resist  it  at  every  point  and  in  every  way,  and  to  require 
that  every  demand  which  it  may  make  upon  the  obedience  of 
the  citizens  be  enforced  only  by  a  present  physical  power,  which 
we  are  incapable  of  resisting." 

The  efforts  of  the  commissioners  were  largely  devoted  to 
conciliatory  interviews  with  representative  men  of  the  opposing 
parties,  who  freely  gave  them  advice  and  information.  For  a  time 
it  looked  as  if  these  efforts  would  prove  barren  of  results.  It 
quickly  became  apparent  that  the  only  hope  of  bringing  about 
a  settlement,  or  creating  an  authority  competent  to  deal  with 
the  situation  in  a  constitutional  way,  was  by  seeking  to  make  one 
legislative  body  which  should  have  in  both  its  branches  a  quorum 
of  members  possessing  an  unquestionable  right  to  their  seats 
on  any  theory  of  the  election  or  of  the  powers  of  the  Returning 
Board.  Gradually  a  more  reasonable  temper  began  to  prevail. 
Overtures  were  made  by  the  Nicholls  Legislature,  which,  though 
rejected  by  the  Packard  body,  began  to  affect  the  steadfastness 
of  individual  Packard  legislators;  who  doubtless  likewise  were 
at  last  becoming  convinced  that  federal  support  could  not  much 
longer  be  counted  on;  and  they  began  to  drift  over  to  the 
Nicholls  body.1  By  the  evening  of  April  19,  the  commission  was 

1  General  Hawley,  in  a  colloquy  in  the  Senate,  April  18,  1888,  said  of  the 
commission's  work:  — 

"The  commission  .  .  .  found  Governor  Packard  in  the  custom-house,  I  think, 
really  master  of  about  half  an  acre  of  ground,  and  with  a  police  force  protecting 
him  there,  going,  possibly,  to  his  house  to  sleep;  and  they  found  Governor 
Nicholls  in  possession  practically  of  the  State,  with  a  well-organized  force  of 
about  three  thousand  troops.  They  found  the  Supreme  Court  declining  to  act. 
They  found  thirteen  of  the  eighteen  district  judges  Republicans,  some  of  them 
acting  and  some  not  acting,  some  who  were  elected  having  qualified  before  the 
Nicholls  Board  and  some  having  qualified  elsewhere.  It  would  have  taken  from 
that  time  to  this  to  decide  where  the  State  Government  of  Louisiana  actually 
was  upon  those  facts. 

"The  desire  of  the  National  Government,  the  desire  of  Mr.  Hayes  and  his 
Cabinet,  was  that  the  properly  elected  members  should  get  together  in  one 
Legislature  with  which  he  could  deal.  That  Legislature  could  call  upon  him  for 
troops  if  it  desired  to  do  so.  If  the  Packard  men  had  the  most  influence,  they 
could  have  got  men  out  of  the  Nicholls  Legislature  over  to  the  Packard  Legisla 
ture.  The  upshot  of  it  naturally  was,  that  without  this  commission  undertaking 
to  coax  them  to  one  side  or  the  other,  the  moment  it  was  distinctly  understood 


60  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

able  to  telegraph  the  President  that  a  legal  Legislature  existed, 
when  it  advised  the  President  to  give  immediate  notice  of  his 
intention  to  withdraw  the  troops  from  the  State  House.1  The 
President  at  once  gave  Secretary  McCrary  almost  identically 
the  same  instructions  that  he  had  given  him  in  the  case  of  South 
Carolina.  Four  days  later,  April  24,  the  soldiers  were  with 
drawn  to  their  barracks,  while  church  bells  pealed  and  cannon 
boomed  rejoicingly,  and  the  Packard  Government  melted  away 
as  noiselessly  as  early  frost  in  autumn  under  the  rays  of  the 
rising  sun.2  The  next  day  Packard,  following  the  example  of 

down  there  that  President  Hayes  was  not  to  use  United  States  troops  to  enforce 
obedience  to  Packard  (which,  perhaps,  would  have  created  a  civil  war),  the 
Packard  Legislature  broke  up,  and  the  question  was  who  would  get  first  over 
into  the  other  Legislature,  and  in  a  short  time  there  was  a  large  majority  in  that 
Legislature  who  were  legal  members  according  to  the  Returning  Board." 

1  The  commissioners  included  in  their  dispatch  a  letter  received  by  them  that 
day  from  Nicholls,  transmitting  to  them  joint  resolutions  adopted  by  his  Legis 
lature  three  days  before,  pledging  the  Nicholls  Government  to  full  acceptance  of 
the  war  Amendments  to  the  Constitution,  to  equal  and  exact  justice  to  all  citi 
zens,  and  "to  the  promotion  of  kindly  relations  between  the  white  and  colored 
citizens."    Nicholls  in  his  letter  declared  that  the  resolutions  expressed  "not 
merely  abstract  ideas,  but  the  conviction  of  OUT  people  which  will  be  practically 
executed  by  them."  For  himself  he  averred:  — 

"  I  have  earnestly  sought  to  obliterate  the  color  line  in  politics,  and  consolidate 
the  people  on  a  basis  of  equal  rights  and  common  interests,  and  it  is  a  source  of 
gratification  to  be  able  to  say  that  this  great  object  is  about  to  be  realized.  I  feel 
that  I  do  but  speak  the  sentiments  of  the  people  when  I  declare  that  their  Govern 
ment  will  insure:  First  —  A  vigorous  and  efficient  enforcement  of  the  laws,  so 
that  all  persons  and  property  will  be  fully  and  equally  protected;  and  should 
occasion  require  it,  I  will  proceed  in  person  where  any  disorders  may  menace 
the  public  peace  or  the  political  rights  of  any  citizen.  Second  —  The  establish 
ment  of  a  system  of  public  education,  to  be  supported  by  equal  and  uniform 
taxation  upon  property,  so  that  all,  without  regard  to  race  or  color,  may  receive 
equal  advantages  thereunder.  Third  —  The  fostering  of  immigration,  in  order  to 
hasten  the  development  of  the  great  natural  resources  of  the  State. 

"Having  thus  committed  our  Government  and  people  to  these  great  principles, 
I  desire  to  add  the  most  emphatic  assurances  that  the  withdrawal  of  the  United 
States  troops  to  their  barracks,  instead  of  causing  any  disturbance  of  the  peace, 
or  any  tendency  to  riot  or  disorder,  will  be  the  source  of  profound  gratification  to 
our  people,  and  will  be  accepted  by  them  as  a  proof  of  the  confidence  of  the  Presi 
dent  in  their  capacity  for  orderly  self-government.  Enjoying,  under  the  blessings 
of  Divine  Providence,  the  happiness  resulting  from  a  government  based  upon 
liberty  and  justice,  the  people  of  Louisiana  cannot  fail  to  appreciate  that  their 
good  fortune  is  largely  due  to  the  magnanimous  policy  so  wisely  inaugurated  and 
so  consistently  maintained  by  the  President  of  the  United  States." 

2  "Nothing  is  left  of  the  Packard  Government  except  Governor  Packard  him 
self  and  his  metropolitan  police  guard.  The  President's  order  for  the  withdrawal 
of  the  troops  broke  up  the  Legislature  with  neatness  and  dispatch.   There  was  a 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  61 

Chamberlain,  issued  an  address  to  the  Republicans  of  Louisiana, 
reviewing  the  events  of  the  last  few  months,  and  declaring  that 
under  compulsion  he  would  "abstain  from  all  active  assertion  " 
of  his  right  to  govern.  "I  waive  none  of  my  legal  rights,"  he 
said,  "but  yield  only  to  superior  force."  He  urged  the  Republi 
cans  to  maintain  their  organization  and  "to  battle  for  the  rights 
of  citizenship  and  free  government."  "To  all,"  he  concluded, 
"I  counsel  peace,  patience,  fortitude,  and  a  firm  trust  that 
eventually  right  and  justice  will  prevail."  And  with  this  noble 
advice  slipping  easily  from  his  pen,  the  last  of  the  carpetbaggers 
made  his  bow  to  the  public  and  passed  into  obscurity. 

Before  leaving  New  Orleans  the  commissioners  addressed  to 
the  President  a  report  of  their  activities  and  accomplishment, 
the  more  significant  parts  of  which  follow:  — 

In  view  of  the  declaration  in  the  letter  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  that 
we  should  direct  our  efforts  to  the  end  of  securing  the  recognition  of  a 
single  Legislature  as  the  depositary  of  the  representative  will  of  the  peo 
ple  of  Louisiana,  leaving,  if  necessary,  to  the  judicial  or  other  constitu 
tional  arbitrament  within  the  State  the  question  of  the  ultimate  right, 
and  in  view  of  your  determination  to  withdraw  the  troops  of  the  United 
States  to  their  barracks  as  soon  as  it  could  be  done  without  endangering 
the  peace,  we  addressed  ourselves  to  the  task  of  securing  a  common 
Legislature  and  undisputed  authority  competent  to  compose  the  exist 
ing  political  contentions  and  preserve  peace  without  any  aid  from  the 
National  Government.  To  this  end  we  endeavored  to  assuage  the  bitter 
ness  and  animosity  we  found  existing  on  both  sides,  so  as  to  secure  pub 
lic  opinion  less  unfavorable  to  such  concessions  as  were  indispensable  to 
our  success  in  obtaining  such  Legislature,  and  such  general  acquiescence 
in  its  authority  as  would  insure  social  order.  We  have  had  full  confer 
ences  with  the  two  gentlemen  who  claim  the  gubernatorial  office,  and 
with  many  members  of  their  respective  Governments  in  their  executive, 
judicial,  and  legislative  departments.  We  have  also  conversed  very 
freely  with  large  delegations  of  men  of  business,  with  many  of  the  dis 
trict  judges,  and  with  hundreds  of  prominent  citizens  of  all  parties 
and  races,  representing  not  only  this  city,  but  almost  every  parish  in  the 
State.  .  .  . 

The  actual  condition  of  affairs  on  our  arrival  in  this  city  may  be 
briefly  stated  as  follows:  Governor  Packard  (we  shall  speak  of  both 

last  mournful  caucus  yesterday,  at  which  Governor  Packard  pleaded  in  vain  for 
the  members  to  stand  by  him  a  few  days  longer.  A  resolution  was  adopted  to  the 
effect  that  it  was  useless  to  prolong  the  contest  and  advising  all  members  on  the 
rolls  of  the  Nicholls  Legislature  to  go  and  take  their  seats."  (New  York  Tribune, 
New  Orleans  dispatch,  April  22,  1877.) 


62  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

gentlemen  by  the  title  they  claim)  was  at  the  State  House  with  his  Legis 
lature  and  friends  and  armed  police  force.  As  there  was  no  quorum  in 
the  Senate,  even  upon  his  own  theory  of  law,  his  Legislature  was  neces 
sarily  inactive.  The  Supreme  Court,  which  recognized  his  authority, 
had  not  attempted  to  transact  any  business  since  it  was  dispossessed  of 
its  court-room  and  the  custody  of  its  records  on  the  9th  day  of  January, 
1877.  He  had  no  organized  militia,  alleging  that  his  deficiency  in  that 
respect  was  owing  to  the  obedience  to  the  orders  of  President  Grant  to 
take  no  steps  to  change  the  relative  position  of  himself  and  Governor 
Nicholls.  His  main  reliance  was  upon  his  alleged  legal  title,  claiming 
that  it  was  the  constitutional  duty  of  the  President  to  recognize  it,  and 
to  afford  him  such  military  assistance  as  might  be  necessary  to  enable 
him  to  assert  his  authority  as  Governor. 

Governor  Nicholls  was  occupying  the  Odd  Fellows'  Hall  as  a  State 
House.  His  Legislature  met  there,  and  was  actively  engaged  in  business 
of  legislation.  All  the  departments  of  the  city  government  of  New  Or 
leans  recognized  his  authority.  The  Supreme  Court,  nominated  by  him, 
and  confirmed  by  his  Senate,  was  holding  daily  sessions,  and  had  heard 
about  two  hundred  cases.  The  time  for  the  collection  of  taxes  had  not 
arrived,  but  considerable  sums  of  money,  in  the  form  of  taxes,  had  been 
voluntarily  paid  into  his  treasury,  out  of  which  he  was  defraying  the 
ordinary  expenses  of  the  State  Government.  The  Nicholls  Legislature 
had  a  quorum  in  the  Senate  upon  either  the  Nicholls  or  Packard  theory 
of  law,  and  a  quorum  in  the  House  on  the  Nicholls,  but  not  on  the  Pack 
ard,  theory.  The  Packard  Legislature  had  a  quorum  in  the  House  on  its 
own  theory  of  law,  but,  as  already  stated,  not  in  the  Senate,  and  wras 
thus  disabled  from  any  legislation  that  would  be  valid  even  in  the 
judgment  of  its  own  party. 

The  commission  found  it  to  be  very  difficult  to  ascertain  the  precise 
extent  to  which  the  respective  Governments  were  acknowledged  in  the 
various  parishes  outside  of  New  Orleans;  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the 
changes  which  had  taken  place  in  parishes  after  the  organization  of 
the  two  Governments,  January  9,  1877,  were  in  favor  of  the  Nicholls 
Government. 

It  is  claimed  by  the  counsel  for  the  Nicholls  Government  that  this 
act  [creating  the  Returning  Board],  so  far  as  it  interposes  the  Returning 
Board,  exercising  these  powers  of  exclusion  between  the  parish  super 
visor  of  registration,  with  his  consolidated  returns,  and  the  Secretary  of 
State,  is,  when  applied  to  the  election  of  members  of  the  General  Assem 
bly,  of  the  Governor,  and  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  a  plain  violation 
of  those  provisions  of  the  constitution  of  Louisiana  which  say  the  re 
turns  of  all  elections  for  members  of  the  General  Assembly  shall  be  made 
to  the  Secretary  of  State;  and,  in  reference  to  the  Governor  and  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor,  the  returns  of  every  election  "shall  be  sealed  up  and 
transmitted  by  the  proper  returning  officers  to  the  Secretary  of  State," 
who  shall  deliver  them  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  63 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  insisted  by  the  counsel  for  the  Packard  Govern 
ment  that  the  Legislature  has  power  to  create  this  Returning  Board  and 
give  it  the  authority  with  which  the  act  clothes  it.  It  is  also  claimed  by 
them  that  the  constitutionality  of  the  act  has  been  settled  by  the  Su 
preme  Court  of  the  State,  but  the  Nicholls  party  denied  that  the  ques 
tion  was  decided  by  the  Supreme  Court  in  a  manner  that  could  be  con 
sidered  authoritative.  It  should  be  further  stated  that  it  was  not  claimed 
by  the  counsel  for  Governor  Nicholls  that  the  Legislature  could  not 
create  a  Returning  Board  and  clothe  it  with  these  powers  in  regard  to 
the  appointment  of  the  Presidential  electors,  since  the  provisions  of  the 
state  constitution  on  which  they  rely  relate  only  to  the  election  of 
members  of  the  Legislature,  of  Governor,  and  Lieutenant-Governor. 
We  quote  the  following  sentences  from  one  of  their  printed  arguments : 
"Indeed,  as  to  Presidential  electors,  the  mode  of  their  appointment 
is,  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  left  to  the  discretion  of  the 
Legislature  of  the  State.  Therefore  the  General  Assembly  of  Louisiana 
might  create  any  tribunal  whatever  and  confide  the  appointment  of 
electors  for  President  and  Vice-President  to  it.  Consequently  it  may 
properly  authorize  such  a  tribunal  in  the  case  of  the  election  of  Presi 
dential  electors  by  the  people  to  count  the  votes  and  decide  and  declare 
who  were  entitled  to  seats  in  the  Electoral  College." 

As  matters  stood  on  our  arrival  here  the  legal  title  of  the  respective 
claimants  to  the  office  of  Governor  depended  upon  the  question  we  have 
stated.  There  was  no  judicial  tribunal  acknowledged  to  be  authoritative 
by  both  parties  by  which  it  could  be  solved,  for  reasons  already  given. 
The  only  hope  of  a  practical  solution  was  by  the  union  of  so  many  mem 
bers  of  the  rival  Legislatures  as  would  make  a  Legislature  with  a  consti 
tutional  quorum,  in  both  Senate  and  House,  of  members  whose  title  to 
seats  is  valid  under  either  view  of  the  law.  With  a  Legislature  of  undis 
puted  authority  the  settlement  of  other  questions  could,  as  stated  in  the 
letter  of  instruction  to  our  commission  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  "  be 
gradually  worked  out  by  the  prevalent  authority  which  the  legislative 
power,  when  undisputed,  is  quite  competent  to  exert  in  composing  con 
flicts  in  the  coordinate  branches  of  the  Government."  Within  the  last 
three  days  this  first  great  step  in  restoring  peace  to  the  State  has  been 
accomplished.  In  consequence  of  a  withdrawal  of  members  from  the 
Packard  to  the  Nicholls  Legislature,  the  latter  body  has  now  eighty- 
seven  Returning  Board  members  in  the  House  and  thirty-twro  in  the 
Senate.  Sixty-one  members  constitute  a  constitutional  quorum  in  the 
House  and  nineteen  in  the  Senate. 

It  is  proper  that  we  should  say,  in  conclusion,  that  it  was  in  view  of 
the  foregoing  facts,  especially  the  consolidation  of  the  Legislatures  and 
our  knowledge  of  the  condition  of  Louisiana,  derived  from  personal 
contact  with  the  people,  that  we  were  induced  to  suggest,  in  our  tele 
gram  of  the  20th  instant,  that  the  immediate  announcement  of  the  time 
when  the  troops  would  be  withdrawn  to  their  barracks  would  be  better 
for  the  peace  of  Louisiana  than  to  postpone  such  announcement  to  some 


64  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

distant  day.  The  commissioners,  holding  various  shades  of  political 
belief,  cannot  well  concur  in  any  sketch  of  the  past  or  probable  future  of 
Louisiana.  We  have  forborne  in  this  report  to  express  any  opinion  on 
the  legal  questions  arising  upon  the  foregoing  statement  of  facts,  be 
cause  our  letter  of  instructions  seemed  to  call  for  a  statement  of  facts 
rather  than  an  expression  of  opinion  by  the  commissioners.  We  all, 
however,  indulge  in  confident  hopes  of  better  days  for  all  races  in  Lou 
isiana.  Among  the  reasons  for  these  hopes  are  the  resolutions  of  the 
Nicholls  Legislature  and  the  letter  of  Governor  Nicholls,  herewith 
submitted,  and  which  have  already  been  given  to  the  public. 

This  clear  and  passionless  survey  of  the  Louisiana  situation 
was  sufficient  to  satisfy  conservative  public  opinion,  if  any  doubts 
still  existed,  that  the  policy  adopted  by  the  President  was  not 
only  inevitable  but  wise.  In  no  other  way  was  real  pacification 
in  the  South  possible;  the  conditions  that  had  long  been  a  re 
proach  to  civilization  must  else  have  continued,  and  internecine 
strife  could  only  be  prevented  by  the  constant  services  of  the 
federal  troops.  With  the  States  left  absolutely  free  to  settle 
their  own  electoral  contests  in  their  own  way,  tranquillity  was 
restored,  decent  government  established,  and  the  thoughts  and 
energies  of  men  directed  toward  industrial  and  commercial  de 
velopment  —  toward  the  cultivation  of  all  the  arts  of  peace. 

Mr.  Hayes  breathed  a  sigh  of  relief  when  the  final  step  was 
taken.  In  his  diary,  April  22,  he  makes  this  concise  entry:  — 

We  have  got  through  with  the  South  Carolina  and  Louisiana . 

At  any  rate,  the  troops  are  ordered  away,  and  I  now  hope  for  peace, 
and,  what  is  equally  important,  security  and  prosperity  for  the  colored 
people.  The  result  of  my  plans  is  to  get  from  those  States,  by  their 
Governors,  Legislatures,  press,  and  people,  pledges  that  the  Thirteenth, 
Fourteenth,  and  Fifteenth  Amendments  shall  be  faithfully  observed; 
that  the  colored  people  shall  have  equal  rights  to  labor,  to  education, 
and  to  the  privileges  of  citizenship.  I  am  confident  this  is  a  good  work. 
Time  will  tell. 

And  time  did  tell.1    For  the  moment,  however,  while  the 

1  November  22, 1877,  President  M.  Stone,  of  Leland  University,  New  Orleans, 
wrote  President  Hayes:  — 

"On  your  inauguration  confident  expectation  was  cherished  by  the  colored 
people  that  you  would  recognize  the  Packard  Government,  and  that  that  meas 
ure  was  the  only  one  to  give  any  safety  to  the  rights  or  persons  of  the  colored 
people,  and  this  feeling  was  indulged  by  sagacious  Northern  men  living  here.  I 
at  first  firmly  believed  it,  but  the  very  different  course  you  have  adopted,  though 
inflicting  a  deep  wound  on  the  partisans  that  placed  you  in  the  chair,  soon  began 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  65 

President's  course  was  approved  by  the  sober  conservative 
sense  of  the  country,  the  air  was  filled  with  a  clamor  of  criti 
cism  and  denunciation  by  a  comparatively  small  group  of  noisy 
irreconcilables.  The  aged  ex-Senator  Benjamin  F.  Wade,  who 
had  seconded  Mr.  Hayes's  nomination  at  Cincinnati,  felt  himself 
"deceived,  betrayed,  and  humiliated"  to  a  degree  beyond  his 
power  of  language  to  express  (as  he  wrote  to  a  friend)  by  the 
President's  course.  William  Lloyd  Garrison  could  see  in  it  only 
"cowardly  compromise'*  with  the  "incorrigible  enemies  of  equal 
rights  and  legitimate  government."  Wendell  Phillips  fairly 
exhausted  his  exuberant  vocabulary  in  spiteful  vituperation. 
And  Mr.  Blaine  expressed  his  "profoundest  sympathy"  for 
Governor  Chamberlain  in  his  "heroic  though  unsuccessful 
struggle  for  civil  liberty  and  constitutional  government,"  while 
his  "heart  and  judgment"  were  with  Governor  Packard  in  his 
contest  "against  great  odds."  He  was  sure,  too,  that  the  Boston 
press  did  not  correctly  reflect  "the  Stalwart  Republican  feeling 
of  New  England."  Many  men  of  lesser  note  and  many  "Stal 
wart"  papers  were  echoing  the  sentiments  of  these  leaders. 
Doubtless  much  of  this  feeling,  especially  on  the  part  of  the  old- 
time  antislavery  agitators  and  workers,  was  genuine  and  sin 
cere;  but  doubtless  quite  as  much  of  it  sprang  from  prejudice 
and  wilful  ignorance  or  was  simulated  for  demagogic  effect. 
The  President  did  not  allow  his  serenity  to  be  in  the  least  dis 
turbed  by  the  aspersions  of  his  critics.  He  was  merely  carrying 
out,  in  good  faith  and  to  the  best  of  his  judgment,  the  pledges 
he  had  made  in  his  letter  of  acceptance.  He  had  meant  what  he 

to  yield  evidence  of  our  mistake  and  of  your  wisdom,  and  now,  I  am  happy  to  say 
your  Southern  policy  has  placed  the  colored  people  in  a  better  situation  than 
they  have  ever  been  in  since  the  war.  They  are  freer  from  fear,  they  are  better 
protected,  they  are  more  likely  to  get  justice  in  the  courts,  than  ever  before.  I 
think  the  intelligent  citizens  of  this  State  who  opposed  your  election  would  be 
very  reluctant  to  spare  you  from  the  Presidential  chair,  and  I  do  not  believe  that 
Mr.  Tilden  could  carry  half  his  party  vote  in  Louisiana  against  you.  I  heartily 
approve  of  your  policy,  and  am  quite  sure  the  intelligent  people,  that  were  so 
much  disappointed  with  your  measures  at  first,  now  approve  them  and  rejoice 
in  your  firmness  and  bravery  in  adopting  and  prosecuting  them  amidst  such 
opposition.  One  thing  which  has  excited  our  admiration  has  been  your  equal 
recognition  of  the  interests,  needs,  and  prejudices  of  both  races.  You  have  been 
an  American  President  and  not  a  President  of  a  race  or  party.  You  will  attain 
a  place  in  the  hearts  of  your  countrymen  second  to  that  occupied  by  none  in  the 
history  of  our  nation." 


66  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

said;  if  men  had  supported  him,  thinking  his  promises  idle  words, 
the  fault  was  theirs,  not  his.  He  could  have  no  controversy 
with  those  who  honestly  differed  with  him;  he  could  only  ask 
them  to  wait  in  patience  and  observe  results.  "My  belief  is," 
he  said,  "that  this  course  tends  to  give  good  government  to  the 
South;  it  tends  to  secure  peace  between  the  sections,  and  be 
tween  the  races  or  parties  of  the  South;  and  it  tends  to  secure 
the  rights,  interests,  and  safety  of  the  colored  people;  therefore 
I  am  in  favor  of  the  policy.  ...  I  respect  the  convictions  of 
those  who  honestly  differ  from  me,  but  am  indifferent  to  those 
who  propose  a  malignant  opposition,  because  I  cannot  see  that 
public  duty  leads  me  in  the  path  that  they  would  mark  for  my 
official  footsteps."  1 

Neither  was  the  President  disturbed  by  the  frantic  effort  of 
many  newspapers  to  make  it  appear  that  in  his  Southern  policy 
he  was  simply  carrying  out  a  bargain  alleged  to  have  been  made 
in  his  behalf  by  his  friends,  Charles  Foster  and  Stanley  Mat 
thews,  in  their  letter  of  February  27  to  Senator  Gordon  and 
Congressman  John  Y.  Brown.2  The  first  reports  of  the  exist 
ence  of  such  a  letter,  which  were  printed  late  in  March,  exag 
gerated  the  importance  of  the  document,  and  imputed  to  it  an 
authoritative  character  which  papers  and  persons,  ready  to  find 
fault  with  the  President,  eagerly  seized  upon  and  made  the  most 
of.  The  authors  of  the  letter  promptly  authorized  its  publica 
tion,  and  all  the  circumstances  attending  the  writing  of  it  were 
set  forth  by  Mr.  Brown  in  a  communication  to  the  Louisville 
Courier- Journal 3  and  by  Mr.  Foster  in  a  newspaper  interview.4 

1  Conversation  with  the  President  reported  in  the  Washington  correspondence 
of  the  New  York  Times,  dated  April  15,  1877.  Compare  also  the  following  letter 
to  W.  D.  Bickham,  of  the  Dayton  Journal :  — 

WASHINGTON,  D.C.,  April  22,  1877. 

MY  DEAR  MAJOR,  —  I  am  glad  to  see  your  article  on  the  Southern  question.  I 
know  how  sore  a  trial  this  business  is  to  stanch  antislavery  veterans  like  you.  I 
expect  many  to  condemn.  I  shall  not  worry,  or  scold  if  they  do.  I  know  they 
mean  well.  It  is  a  comfort  to  know  also  that  I  mean  well.  It  will,  I  trust,  turn 
out  that  I  am  right.  If  not,  I  am  a  sound  Republican  still  and  always.  —  Sin 
cerely, 

R.  B.  HAYES. 

2  Already  given  in  chapter  xxvi.        *  Courier-Journal,  March  29,  1877. 
4  Fostoria  Review,  March  29,  1877:  — 

"The  letter  written  to  John  Young  Brown  and  Senator  Gordon  was  the  result 
of  a  conversation  I  had  with  Mr.  Brown,  in  which  he  asked  for  written  assurances 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROBLEM  67 

Both  the  text  of  the  letter  and  the  statements  of  these  gentlemen 
proved  conclusively  that  no  "bargain"  had  been  made  or  con 
templated;  that  Mr.  Hayes  was  entirely  ignorant  of  the  whole 
matter;  that  Messrs.  Foster  and  Matthews  had  not  professed 
to  speak  with  authority,  but  had  merely  expressed,  on  the 
basis  of  their  knowledge  of  Mr.  Hayes's  character  and  ways  of 
thought,  their  confidence  in  his  purposes  toward  the  South. 
These  purposes  had  clearly  been  forecast  in  his  letter  of  accept 
ance,  and  they  knew,  both  from  long  acquaintance  with  Mr. 
Hayes  and  from  his  repeated  assurances  during  the  campaign 
and  since  the  election,  that  he  meant  all  that  he  said  and  all 
that  his  words  implied. 

Every  one  could  see  that  the  writers  of  the  letter  had  been 
justified  in  their  confidence  by  the  President's  treatment  of  the 
Southern  question  in  his  inaugural  address.  Only  that  type  of 
mind,  which  is  always  looking  for  petty  motives  or  malign  in 
fluences  to  explain  the  origin  of  great  actions,  could  persist  in 
adhering  to  the  silly  bargain  theory  to  account  for  Mr.  Hayes's 
Southern  policy.  That  policy  was  the  simple  fulfilment  of  the 
obligation  he  had  assumed  at  the  beginning  of  his  candidacy; 
the  accomplishment  of  a  patriotic  duty  which  his  judgment  and 
conscience  approved. 

The  heat  and  passion  of  that  period  evaporated  long  ago,  and 
men  now  can  regard  the  events  of  those  agitated  days  with  clear 

for  his  future  justification.  He  distinctly  stated  that  he  did  not  ask  this  as  a  con 
dition  of  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  the  Electoral  Bill;  that  he  regarded  that 
as  a  matter  of  personal  honor,  and  that  no  power  could  coerce  him  to  do  other 
wise  than  faithfully  to  stand  by  the  provisions  of  the  bill.  He  asked  that  a  paper 
be  signed  by  Mr.  Matthews  and  myself,  and  be  addressed  to  him  and  Senator 
Gordon.  I  expressed  a  willingness  to  accede  to  his  wishes,  and  a  paper  was  pre 
pared,  signed,  and  delivered.  I  have  no  recollection  of  having  any  conversation 
with  Senator  Gordon  on  the  subject  of  writing  this  letter.  The  letter  was  a  state 
ment  by  Mr.  Matthews  and  myself  as  to  wrhat  we  believed  would  be  the  policy 
of  President  Hayes  in  dealing  with  the  Southern  question.  It  contained  nothing 
more  than  was  contained  in  my  speech  on  the  subject." 

This  statement  accords  with  what  Mr.  Brown  wrote  in  greater  detail.  Mr. 
Brown  had  gone  to  Mr.  Foster  because  he  had  the  "highest  respect"  for  him  and 
confidence  in  him,  and  because  "he  represented  the  district  of  Governor  Hayes, 
[and]  he  had  just  made  a  manly  and  patriotic  speech,  in  which  he  had  said  that 
under  President  Hayes,  if  inaugurated,  the  flag  shall  float  over  States,  not  prov 
inces;  over  freemen,  not  subjects."  Mr.  Foster  told  Mr.  Brown  that  he  had  just 
received  a  letter  "from  Governor  Hayes  thanking  him  for  his  speech  and  en 
dorsing  it,"  which  he  offered  to  show  to  him  and  General  Gordon. 


68  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

vision  and  calm  judgment.  Every  one  can  see  now  that  the 
experiment  of  permitting  a  newly  enfranchised  and  ignorant 
servile  race,  led  and  dominated  by  unscrupulous  adventurers,  to 
govern  American  States  in  defiance  of  the  intelligence,  the  cul 
ture,  and  the  property  interests  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  inhabitants, 
was  bound  to  prove  a  failure.  The  forces  of  civilization  were  sure 
to  assert  themselves  and  gain  control.  It  was  Mr.  Hayes's  merit 
to  see  clearer  and  think  straighter  than  many  of  the  forceful 
leaders  of  his  party,  and  to  be  willing  to  admit  that  events  had 
discredited  the  policy  long  pursued  toward  the  reconstructed 
States.  And  then,  though  confronted  with  conditions  of  peculiar 
difficulty,  he  had  the  resolution  to  take  the  needed  action.  The 
judgment  of  history  will  unhesitatingly  commend  not  only  the 
wisdom  but  the  moral  courage  with  which  Mr.  Hayes  answered 
for  all  time  the  obstinate  and  distracting  Southern  question. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM 

NOW  for  civil  service  reform!/'  wrote  Mr.  Hayes  in  his  diary 
on  April  22,  1877,  after  recording  his  satisfaction  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Southern  problem.  "Legislation,"  he  continued, 
"must  be  prepared,  and  executive  rules  and  maxims.  We  must 
limit  and  narrow  the  area  of  patronage;  we  must  diminish  the 
evils  of  office-seeking;  we  must  stop  interference  of  federal 
officers  with  elections;  we  must  be  relieved  of  congressional 
dictation  as  to  appointments."  In  his  letter  of  acceptance  and 
in  his  inaugural  address  Mr.  Hayes  had  shown  that  he  fully 
recognized  the  iniquity  of  the  spoils  system  and  the  need  of 
thorough  reform;  in  these  brief  sentences  he  gives  a  compre 
hensive  statement  of  the  great  ends  to  be  achieved  by  reform. 
It  is  doubtful,  however,  whether  he  as  yet  realized  how  arduous 
was  the  task  which  he  was  undertaking,  how  many  discourage 
ments  and  obstacles  were  to  be  met  in  its  pursuit,  or  how  little 
assistance  he  was  to  receive  from  the  controlling  forces  of  his 
own  party,  committed  to  the  good  cause  though  they  were  by 
the  declaration  of  the  Cincinnati  Convention. 

The  spoils  system  had  so  long  been  woven  into  the  very  texture 
of  American  political  life  that  its  defenders  or  apologists  had 
come  almost  to  believe  that  its  elimination  would  destroy  the 
fabric  itself.  It  was  acquiesced  in  by  the  thoughtless  and  indif 
ferent  as  though  it  were  part  of  the  order  of  nature.  There  was 
something  plausibly  appealing  in  the  clamor  for  "rotation  in 
offices."  Was  not  every  citizen  as  good  as  every  other  in  this 
great  Republic?  Ought  not  he  to  have  his  chance  at  the  good 
things  the  Government  had  to  offer?  Every  sort  of  employment 
in  the  public  service  was  thought  of  as  an  "office"  and  as  a 
reward  to  be  attained,  not  because  of  any  particular  fitness  or 
adaptability  for  performing  the  duties  that  it  required,  but  be 
cause  a  man  was  a  good  Republican  or  a  good  Democrat  and 
had  shown  some  skill  in  political  work  —  in  organizing  and 


70  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

directing  party  activities  in  his  ward  or  city,  his  county  or  State.1 
The  idea  of  the  civil  service  as  a  career  for  which  men  should 
be  selected,  as  they  would  be  in  the  ordinary  commercial  and 
industrial  pursuits  of  life,  because  of  their  approved  fitness  or 
their  promising  ability,  and  should  be  retained  and  promoted 
for  their  experience  and  efficiency,  had  little  place  in  the  thoughts 
of  active  politicians  or  even  of  the  great,  good-natured,  indif 
ferent  mass  of  citizens.  Public  service  was  regarded  as  somehow 
quite  different  from  private  enterprises,  and  not  subject  to  the 
rules  of  merit  and  common  sense  without  which,  of  course,  these 
could  not  prosperously  and  honestly  be  conducted.2 

Gradually,  too,  the  Senators  and  Congressmen  of  the  domi 
nant  party  had  virtually  usurped  the  appointing  power  of  the 
great  bulk  of  the  federal  officers  in  their  States.  This  power 
belongs  under  the  Constitution  to  the  Executive;  but  who  so 
able  to  advise  the  Executive,  in  the  wide  extent  of  our  domain, 
about  local  appointments,  as  the  representatives  in  Congress? 
The  giving  of  advice  easily  passes  into  dictation  and  demand; 
and  this  is  made  effective  by  the  cooperation  of  the  Senators 
to  prevent  the  confirmation  of  any  appointee  obnoxious  to  the 
Senators  of  the  State  from  which  the  appointee  is  taken.  Nat 
urally  the  Congressmen  used  the  patronage  to  strengthen  their 
own  hold  upon  the  party  organization.  Men  that  had  served 
their  interests  were  put  in  place  and  kept  in  place,  not  because 
they  gave  the  Government  good  service,  —  though  it  must  in 
fairness  be  frankly  admitted  that  in  multitudes  of  cases  they  did, 
—  but  because  they  were  useful  to  their  patrons,  aiding  them 

1  "You  observe  that  in  making  appointments  the  interests  of  the  public  serv 
ice  are  —  I  will  not  say  in  all  cases,  but  certainly  in  a  very  great  proportion  of 
cases  —  a  consideration  of  only  secondary  importance.   Men  are  appointed  for 
what  they  have  done  or  are  to  do  for  the  party,  and  not  for  what  they  have  done 
or  are  to  do  for  the  public  service.   They  are  not  infrequently  appointed  to  the 
salary  and  not  to  the  office.    It  is  political  favoritism  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a 
ruling  system."  (Carl  Schurz,  speech  in  Senate  January  27,  1871.) 

2  "You  have  learned  that  the  offices  of  the  Government  are  mere  'spoils,' 
'public  plunder';  that  instead  of  being  regarded  as  the  places  of  duty,  they  are 
regarded  as  conquests,  the  conquest  of  a  party;  as  'berths'  into  which  men  are 
put,  not  to  use  the  best  of  their  energies,  not  to  look  with  anxiety  after  the  in 
terests  of  the  Government,  but  to  make  it  comfortable  for  themselves  and  to 
serve  their  friends.    And  you  have  learned  more;  how  current  these  words 
'spoils'  and  'plunder'  have  become  in  the  mouths  of  the  people,  so  that  we  have 
lost  almost  all  sense  of  their  fearful  meaning."   (Carl  Schurz,  ibid.) 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM       71 

in  their  factional  contests,  and  supporting  them  with  personal 
effort  and  money  contributions  in  their  campaigns  for  renomina- 
tion  and  election.  Of  course,  such  a  system  led  inevitably  to  the 
unnecessary  multiplication  of  "places,"  to  the  creation  of  sine 
cures  for  "workers  "  who  had  to  be  "taken  care  of,"  to  insub 
ordination  and  neglect  of  duty,  to  corrupt  practices  and  the 
acceptance  of  bribes,  to  promotions  of  sycophants,  and  to  arbi 
trary  dismissals  of  faithful  clerks  to  make  room  for  untried  men 
whose  "claims"  could  not  be  ignored.  The  success,  efficiency, 
and  perpetuity  of  the  political  machine  are  thus  dependent  in 
large  measure  upon  the  power  of  patronage,  the  dispensation 
and  control  of  the  spoils  of  office.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  the  politicians  who  had  been  bred  under  this  system,  who 
had  never  known  anything  else,  who  had  gained  their  promi 
nence  and  their  positions  largely  by  its  exercise,  should  stub 
bornly  have  resisted  its  overthrow  and  bitterly  resented  the 
impertinence  of  the  "impractical  doctrinaires"  who  would  not 
cease  to  proclaim  its  evils  and  to  incite  public  opinion  to  demand 
reform. 

In  Congress,  too,  a  few  stanch  friends  of  the  reform,  foremost 
among  whom  was  Thomas  A.  Jenckes,  of  Rhode  Island,  had 
for  years  ceased  not  to  cry  out  against  the  iniquitous  spoils 
system.  As  early  as  December,  1866,  Mr.  Jenckes  had  intro 
duced  in  the  House  a  reform  measure,  which,  however,  received 
meagre  attention.  At  each  succeeding  session  he  had  made 
renewed  efforts  to  obtain  legislation.1  These  efforts,  while  re 
sulting  for  some  years  only  in  discussion,  helped  in  the  work  of 
educating  public  sentiment  which  a  few  influential  journals  and 
an  increasing  number  of  high-minded  and  patriotic  men  were 
earnestly  and  steadfastly  prosecuting  —  much  to  the  annoyance 
of  the  practical  politicians.  Finally,  in  March,  1871,  under  the 
pressure  of  public  opinion,  a  law  was  passed  authorizing  the 
President  to  prescribe  rules  and  regulations  governing  the  admis 
sion  of  men  to  the  civil  service,  and  authorizing  him  to  select 
suitable  persons  to  assist  him  in  this  work.  President  Grant 
approved  the  law  and  promptly  appointed  a  commission  of 
seven  members,  at  the  head  of  which  he  placed  the  eminent 

1  In  December,  1869,  Mr.  Schurz  introduced  in  the  Senate  a  bill  of  similar 
purport. 


72  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

reformer,  George  William  Curtis.  Reasonable  rules  were  pre 
pared  by  the  commission  which  the  President  accepted  with  some 
reservation,  and  on  January  1, 1872,  they  were  put  in  effect  with 
the  grateful  acclaim  of  all  thoughtful  people.  The  rules  directed, 
among  other  things,  that  the  employees  in  each  department 
should  be  graded  with  reference  to  their  experience  and  the  im 
portance  of  their  work;  that  promotions  to  higher  grades  should 
be  from  the  men  already  in  the  service;  that  new  men  should 
be  admitted  only  to  the  lowest  grade;  and  that  men  should  be 
appointed  only  after  their  fitness  had  been  ascertained  by  com 
petitive  examinations,  under  the  supervision  of  the  commission. 
While  the  enforcement  of  the  rules  was  left  entirely  to  the  dis 
cretion  of  the  President,  yet,  as  General  Grant  had  shown  by 
his  messages  that  he  was  in  sympathy  with  the  reform,  it  was 
confidently  believed  that  the  first  great  step  had  been  taken  in  a 
movement  which  should  steadily  go  forward  till  all  the  abuses 
of  patronage  had  been  purged  from  our  governmental  system, 
and  the  same  principles  of  merit  and  efficiency  that  were  ob 
served  in  the  conduct  of  private  business  should  prevail  in  the 
public  offices.1  But  this  belief  was  doomed  to  speedy  disap 
pointment  and  extinction.  The  practical  politicians  had  no 
thought  of  surrendering  their  preserves  at  the  first  onslaught. 
The  great  parties  in  their  national  and  state  platforms  might 
commend  the  rules  and  urge  further  legislation;  the  Cabinet 
officers  and  heads  of  Departments  might  assiduously  endeavor 
to  enforce  the  rules;  but  they  stood  obdurate  and  defiant  in  their 
opposition,  jeering  the  reform  and  reformers,  seeking  in  all  ways 
to  undermine  and  circumvent  the  rules,  and  denouncing  the 
whole  movement  as  an  attempt  to  foist  the  "Chinese  system" 
upon  our  free  American  Republic.  In  vain  did  President  Grant, 
in  his  messages  of  1872  and  1873,  ask  for  legislation  sanction 
ing  the  rules.  The  answer  of  Congress  was  the  refusal  of  an 

1  "The  more  intelligent  and  unselfish  portion  of  the  people  .  .  .  believed  that 
the  object  of  the  long  unanswered  prayer  of  their  hearts,  for  a  purification  and 
elevation  of  the  civil  service,  was  about  to  be  realized.  They,  and  the  worthy 
men  who,  at  the  expense  of  great  sacrifices  to  themselves,  were  invited  to  aid  in 
preparing  and  applying  the  rules,  thought  that  a  party  once  committed  to  so 
beneficent  a  work  would  not  voluntarily  abandon  it."  (The  Experiment  of  Civil 
Service  Reform  in  the  United  States;  paper  by  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  read  before  the 
American  Social  Science  Association  at  Detroit,  May,  1875.) 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM       73 

appropriation  to  provide  for  the  expenses  of  the  commission  and 
threats  of  legislation  making  the  spoils  system  more  complete. 
Finally,  in  his  message  of  December  7,  1874,  President  Grant 
declared  that  it  was  impracticable  to  maintain  the  rules  "with 
out  the  direct  and  positive  support  of  Congress."  He  gave 
warning  that  "if  Congress  adjourned  without  positive  legisla 
tion  on  the  subject  of  *  civil  service  reform,*  he  would  regard 
such  action  as  a  disapproval  of  the  system  and  would  abandon 
it."  That  was  cheering  news  to  the  enemies  of  the  reform,  in 
Congress  and  out,  and  they  saw  to  it  that  no  positive  legislation 
was  enacted.  The  promised  result  followed;  the  commission 
passed  into  a  state  of  suspended  animation;  the  President  lost 
all  interest;  and  the  good  old  spoils  system,  dear  to  the  heart 
of  every  practical  politician,  resumed  its  malign  sway;  more 
arrogant  and  aggressive,  if  anything,  than  ever,  because  of  its 
triumph  over  the  forces  of  decency  and  common  sense. 

The  advocates  of  reform  were  disappointed,  but  not  utterly 
cast  down.  They  renewed  their  pestilent  agitation  with  a  zeal  and 
determination  that  could  not  fail  to  impress  public  sentiment. 
The  spoilsmen  had  perforce  to  recognize  the  popular  demand 
for  reform,  and  acquiesced  without  a  murmur  in  the  adoption 
by  the  national  conventions  of  both  parties  in  1876  of  force 
ful  declarations  in  favor  of  civil  service  reform.  But  they  had 
no  intention  of  making  the  promise  good,  and  those  of  the 
Republican  party  were  far  from  pleased  at  the  insistence  placed 
upon  it  by  Mr.  Hayes  in  his  letter  of  acceptance  and  again  in 
his  inaugural  address.  So,  at  the  beginning  of  his  Administra 
tion,  Mr.  Hayes  confronted  this  situation:  First,  his  party  was 
committed  by  its  latest  official  pronouncement  to  civil  service 
reform,  and  the  better  sentiment  of  the  country,  irrespective  of 
party,  demanded  it.  Second,  he  himself  believed  sincerely  in  its 
need  and  its  importance,  and  he  was  under  the  most  solemn 
pledge,  which  he  had  no  thought  of  repudiating,  to  do  everything 
in  his  power  for  its  realization.  Third,  the  spoils  system  was  in 
full  force  and  acceptance  throughout  the  civil  establishment  of 
the  Government;  the  Republican  Senators  and  Congressmen 
were  in  practical  control  of  the  patronage  in  their  States  and 
districts,  making  appointments  and  causing  dismissals  as  suited 
their  whims  or  as  would  best  serve  the  exigencies  of  their  party, 


74  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

or  factional  schemes  —  virtual  overlords  of  the  Government's 
servants.  These  beneficiaries  of  the  system,  who  felt  their  con 
sequence  much  enhanced  by  the  power  it  gave  them,  had  not 
only  no  wish  to  see  it  reformed  or  restricted,  but  were  tena 
cious  in  their  determination  to  defy  the  party  promise  and  the 
popular  desire  and  to  retain  the  patronage  they  had  so  long 
exercised.  They  could  be  counted  upon  to  obstruct  and  dis 
credit,  within  the  limits  of  their  influence  and  ingenuity,  what 
ever  efforts  toward  genuine  reform  should  be  put  forth  by  the 
Executive. 

The  law  of  March  3,  1871,  to  be  sure,  under  which  President 
Grant  had  made  his  futile  and  fleeting  attempt  at  reform,  was 
still  in  force.  By  its  authority  the  President  could  establish 
rules  and  regulations  governing  appointments  and  dismissals, 
but  wholly  within  his  own  discretion  to  enforce  or  to  relax. 
He  could  not  expect  the  moribund  commission  to  assist  in  the 
execution  of  the  rules  unless  Congress  appropriated  money  for 
its  compensation.  And  there  could  be  no  assurance  of  the  perma 
nency  of  any  action  he  should  take  without  positive  legislation 
by  Congress  establishing  a  reform  system.  It  was  thus  quite 
impossible  for  the  President  alone  to  bring  about  "a  reform  that 
should  be  thorough,  radical,  and  complete,"  the  need  of  which 
he  had  emphasized  in  his  inaugural  address.  That  would  require 
the  sympathy  and  cooperation  of  the  legislative  branch  of  the 
Government.  But  he  could  do  much  to  minimize  and  mitigate 
the  abuses  of  the  existing  system  by  acting  himself  in  harmony 
with  reform  principles  in  causing  dismissals  and  in  making  ap 
pointments,  and  by  requiring  the  Departments  at  Washington 
and  the  postmasters  and  customs  collectors  in  the  great  cities 
to  adopt  business  methods  in  the  selection  and  retention  of  their 
subordinates.  He  could  also  restrict  the  political  activities 
of  officeholders  and  he  could  resist  congressional  assumption  of 
right  to  control  federal  patronage.  In  all  these  particulars  — 
though  with  numerous  lapses  —  in  spite  of  the  constant  agitation 
of  influential  leaders  of  his  own  party,  in  spite  of  the  frequent 
disloyalty  to  the  spirit  of  reform  on  the  part  of  men  in  office, 
and  in  spite  of  the  malignant  cavilling  of  petty  politicians  and 
prejudiced  journals,  Mr.  Hayes's  Administration  marked  an 
epoch  in  the  civil  service  of  the  country. 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM       75 

At  the  very  beginning  of  his  Administration  Mr.  Hayes  let 
it  be  understood  that  no  sweeping  changes  in  the  civil  service 
would  be  instituted;  that  appointments  would  be  made  only  to 
fill  vacancies;  that  men  would  be  dismissed  only  for  the  good  of 
the  service,  —  not  for  political  reasons  or  to  make  room  for 
other  men;  that  the  recommendations  of  Congressmen  would 
not  be  regarded  as  conclusive;  that  appointments  in  the  various 
Departments  would  be  left  primarily  to  the  Cabinet  officers; 
that  personal  applications  to  the  President  would  receive  scant 
consideration;  that  applications  to  members  of  his  family  would 
be  absolutely  futile;  and  that  no  person  connected  with  him  by 
blood  or  marriage  would  be  appointed  to  office.1  One  result  of 
all  this  was  that  the  throng  of  office-seekers  at  Washington  from 
all  parts  of  the  country  and  the  pressure  for  place,  great  as  these 
were,  were  much  less  considerable  than  had  marked  the  opening 

1  "The  brother-in-law  and  cousin  will  have  no  place  in  President  Hayes's 
Administration.  Among  the  unsuccessful  candidates  for  the  United  States 
Marshalship  for  the  Northern  District  of  Illinois  was  a  Mr.  Stillwell,  of  Living 
ston  County.  He  was  admitted  to  a  private  audience  with  the  President  and 
presented  his  papers.  The  President  looked  them  all  carefully  through,  and  then, 
looking  Mr.  Stillwell  full  in  the  face,  said:  'Your  papers  are  unexceptionable; 
there  is  nothing  in  your  record  which  does  not  seem  to  show  that  you  are  fully 
qualified  for  the  position;  but  there  is  one  insuperable  objection  to  your  appoint 
ment  to  any  federal  office  —  that  is,  your  wife  is  a  favorite  cousin  of  Mrs.  Hayes.* 
Mr.  Stillwell  left  the  Presidential  office  convinced  at  last  that  the  fact  which 
many  thought  would  insure  his  appointment  had  rendered  his  defeat  inevitable." 
(New  York  Tribune,  Washington  correspondence,  March  16.) 

To  a  kinsman,  H.  S.  Noyes,  Mr.  Hayes  wrote  July  24,  1878:  — 

"I  have  your  letter  of  the  21st.  You  evidently  have  not  heard  of  the  rule  — 
an  ungracious  and  embarrassing  rule  —  which  I  felt  it  wras  my  duty  to  adopt 
against  the  appointment  of  relatives  to  office.  No  man  connected  with  me  by 
blood  or  marriage  has  received  any  appointment  at  my  hands.  I  need  not  say 
that  there  have  been  applicants.  No  doubt  a  number  of  them  have  felt  severely 
my  refusal  to  give  them  places.  Generally,  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  say,  my  course 
on  this  subject  has  been  approved  by  my  own  and  by  my  wife's  kindred.  I  need 
not  argue  the  propriety  of  the  course.  As  you  say,  'Enough  is  as  good  as  a 
feast.' 

"You  speak  of  local  places  which  you  would  like  to  have.  Such  places  are 
usually  filled  by  incumbents  of  local  offices.  Of  course,  I  do  not  dictate  or  oppose 
such  appointments.  I  simply  let  them  alone. 

"This  is  a  hard  letter  to  write.  I  feel  the  value  of  what  you  have  done.  I  am 
persuaded  of  the  warmth  and  sincerity  of  your  friendship.  More  than  most  men, 
I  suspect,  I  feel  the  ties  of  kinship  and  the  duties  they  impose.  Your  qualifica 
tions  and  fitness  for  any  duty  you  would  undertake,  I  know  are  ample.  But  the 
principle  is  in  the  way.  Hence  this  awkward  and,  I  fear  you  will  think,  this  cold 
and  unfriendly  note." 


76  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

weeks  of  any  other  new  Administration  within  the  memory  of 
the  oldest  public  men.1 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Cabinet,  Messrs.  Evarts  and 
Schurz  were  appointed  a  committee  to  formulate  rules  to  gov 
ern  appointments.  Secretary  Schurz  took  immediate  steps  to 
reorganize  his  Department,  informing  the  clerks  that  their 
tenure  of  place  and  their  promotion  would  depend,  not  on  favor 
or  political  backing,  but  on  their  efficiency  and  their  fidelity 
to  duty.  The  subordinates  in  other  Departments  received 
similar  assurances.2  Superfluous  clerks  were  dispensed  with, 
incompetents  were  dismissed,  sinecures  were  abolished;  and  the 
morale  of  the  service  and  the  diligence  of  the  clerks  began  to 
show  marked  improvement.3  In  all  Departments  better  dis 
cipline  and  closer  attention  to  duty  were  presently  observed.  It 
was  made  perfectly  clear  in  due  time  to  all  government  officers, 
clerks,  and  employees  that  they  could  with  absolute  impu 
nity  refuse  any  demands  made  upon  them  for  contributions  by 

1  "  It  is  a  remarkable  and  creditable  fact  that  with  the  incoming  of  a  new 
Administration,  having  control  of  from  forty  thousand  to  fifty  thousand  public 
offices,  the  number  of  persons  who  have  come  to  Washington  seeking  governr 
ment  employment  is  actually  less  than  that  of  those  who  came  here  in  Decem 
ber,  1875,  to  compete  for  the  hundred  or  two  appointments  to  be  made  by 
the  Democratic  House  of  Representatives."   (New  York  Tribune,  Washington 
correspondence,  March  9.) 

2  For  example,  Secretary  McCrary  issued  the  following  circular  to  the  em 
ployees  of  the  War  Department:  "The  civil  employees  now  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  under  the  War  Department,  are  hereby  informed  that  hereafter 
removals  will  be  made  in  this  Department  for  cause  only,  and  promotions  will 
be  ordered  upon  the  sole  ground  of  merit.  Every  official  must  understand  that 
retention  and  advancement  in  the  service  will  depend  upon  record  of  good  be 
havior  and  efficiency  and  not  upon  external  influence.   No  political  test  is  re 
quired  beyond  an  earnest  support  of  the  Constitution  and  its  amendments  and 
a  proper  respect  for  the  rights  of  citizens  guaranteed  thereby.    Industry  and 
faithfulness  in  the  discharge  of  duty,  a  good  moral  character,  and  strictly  tem 
perate  habits  will  be  required  and  enforced,  and  heads  of  bureaus  will  report 
promptly  any  case  of  idleness,  neglect  of  duty,  incapacity,  drunkenness,  or  any 
immoral  or  dishonest  conduct.  In  case  of  vacancy,  reports  thereof  will  be  made, 
accompanied  by  a  list  of  all  the  most  reliable  and  efficient  clerks  in  the  same 
office,  division,  or  bureau,  from  which  list  the  vacancy  shall  be  filled." 

1  To  Senator  Merrimon,  of  North  Carolina,  Postmaster-General  Key  wrote 
March  17,  1877:  "While  I  shall  always  be  glad  to  receive  the  advice  of  Senators 
and  Representatives  in  Congress,  touching  matters  of  this  kind,  yet  I  shall  not 
consider  myself  as  in  any  way  bound  to  act  upon  it.  My  desire  is  to  do  the 
greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number,  and  to  this  end  I  shall  always  be  glad  to 
have  your  coSperation." 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM       77 

campaign  committees.  If  they  chose  to  give,  like  other  members 
of  the  party,  that  was  their  affair;  but  they  were  to  feel  no  con 
straint  to  give  any  specified  percentage  of  their  salary  at  the 
behest  of  party  authority;  and  they  were  to  understand  that 
their  refusal  to  give  would  in  no  way  affect  their  standing  or 
prospect  of  advancement  in  the  public  service. 

Secretary  Sherman  appointed  a  commission  of  three  men,  with 
John  Jay  as  chairman,  to  make  a  thorough  investigation  of  the 
condition  of  the  New  York  Custom-House.1  Its  report  showed 
that  the  most  scandalous  disregard  of  businesslike  methods 
prevailed;  that  in  the  selection  of  subordinates  and  their  reten 
tion  in  place  the  welfare  of  the  government  service  was  sub 
ordinated  to  the  interests  of  party  politics  and  politicians  in 
New  York  City  and  State;  that  hundreds  of  supernumerary  em 
ployees  were  on  the  pay-roll,  many  of  whom  rendered  no  service 
at  all  to  the  Government.  The  recommendations  of  the  com 
mission  that  politics  be  eliminated  from  the  custom-house  and 
that  the  collector  and  his  force  confine  themselves  to  the  duties 
for  which  they  were  engaged,  were  approved  by  the  President  in 
the  following  letter  to  Secretary  Sherman :  — 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION, 
WASHINGTON,  May  26,  1877. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  read  the  partial  report  of  the  commission 
appointed  to  examine  the  New  York  Custom-House.  I  concur  with  the 
commission  in  their  recommendations.  It  is  my  wish  that  the  collection 
of  the  revenues  should  be  free  from  partisan  control,  and  organized  on  a 
strictly  business  basis,  with  the  same  guaranties  for  efficiency  and  fidel 
ity  in  the  selection  of  the  chief  and  subordinate  officers  that  would  be 
required  by  a  prudent  merchant.  Party  leaders  should  have  no  more 
influence  in  appointments  than  other  equally  respectable  citizens.  No 
assessment  for  political  purposes,  on  officers  or  subordinates,  should  be 
allowed.  No  useless  officer  or  employee  should  be  retained.  No  officer 
should  be  required  or  permitted  to  take  part  in  the  management  of 
political  organizations,  caucuses,  conventions,  or  election  campaigns. 
Their  right  to  vote,  and  to  express  their  views  on  public  questions,  either 
orally  or  through  the  press,  is  not  denied,  provided  it  does  not  interfere 
with  the  discharge  of  their  official  duties.  —  Respectfully, 

R.  B.  HAYES. 

HON.  JOHN  SHERMAN,  ETC. 

1  Similar  commissions  likewise  investigated  the  custom-houses  at  Boston  and 
Philadelphia  with  much  the  same  results. 


78  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

This  letter  evoked  discussion  and  comment  throughout  the 
country,  by  far  the  weightier  part  of  which  expressed  approval 
and  commendation.  Here,  indeed,  a  blow  was  struck  at  the  very 
vitals  of  the  evil  system.  Let  the  prohibitions  of  this  letter  pre 
vail,  and  a  complete  divorce  of  the  civil  service  from  political 
activity  be  brought  about,  and  all  the  other  abuses  that  now 
scandalized  the  civil  service  would  easily  be  eliminated.  Some 
journals  of  high  standing  and  some  men  of  disinterested  motives, 
however,  urged  that  the  President  was  going  too  far  in  restrict 
ing  the  political  activity  of  public  officers;  that  such  men  ought 
to  have  the  same  right  to  participate  in  politics  as  private  citi 
zens  —  indeed,  that  they  were  under  greater  obligations  to  do 
so  because  of  the  privileges  they  enjoyed  as  officers,  and  their 
greater  knowledge  of  affairs.  This  was,  of  course,  on  the  assump 
tion  that  all  placemen  were  and  of  right  should  be  members  of 
the  dominant  party;  for  any  suggestion  that  officeholders  who 
might  happen  to  belong  to  the  opposition  should  engage  in  party 
activity  was  admitted  to  be  intolerable.  The  complete  answer 
to  such  objections  is  that  men  in  the  public  service  are  the 
servants  of  the  entire  body  politic;  and  that  it  is  scandalous  for 
them  to  make  themselves  obnoxious  to  one  half  the  people  whom 
they  are  serving  and  to  whom  they  owe  their  livelihood.  While 
it  is  fitting  and  desirable  that  men  in  the  higher  offices,  who  are 
part  of  the  Administration,  or  distinctly  represent  it,  should  on 
all  proper  occasions  appear  to  explain  and  defend  its  policies,  the 
men  whose  sole  duty  it  is  to  carry  on  the  business  functions  of  the 
Government  —  to  handle  the  mails,  to  collect  the  revenues,  to 
conduct  the  agencies  of  justice,  and  to  perform  all  the  multifari 
ous  clerical  duties  of  the  various  executive  departments  —  ought 
to  be  as  little  concerned  with  the  activities  of  partisan  politics 
as  the  men  in  the  army  and  navy.  But  that  was  too  high  an  ideal 
for  any  except  the  most  clear-sighted  and  resolute  reformers 
distinctly  to  grasp  and  steadfastly  to  uphold  in  the  year  of  grace 
1877.  The  practical  politicians,  both  in  office  and  out,  and  a 
large  proportion  of  the  partisan  press,  were  sure  the  President's 
views  would  never  do;  that  if  they  were  actually  enforced,  the 
party  would  go  to  smash,  and  the  very  liberties  of  the  people 
would  be  endangered.  Only  through  the  instrumentality  of 
parties  could  the  Government  be  carried  on.  A  man  must 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM       79 

believe  that  the  Government  would  best  be  served  by  his  own 
party.  It  was,  therefore,  not  only  the  right  but  the  duty  of  the 
President  to  use  the  offices  to  strengthen  his  party's  position 
and  to  improve  its  prospects  of  control,  as  well  locally  as  in  the 
nation;  and  the  men  he  placed  in  office  ought  to  feel  under 
compelling  obligation  to  labor  constantly  for  the  party's  welfare. 
True,  the  President  might  have  answered,  but  "he  serves  his 
party  best  who  serves  his  country  best." 

The  murmurs  of  officeholders  and  practical  politicians  and  the 
strictures  of  friendly  critics  did  not  disturb  the  President's  equa 
nimity  nor  deter  him  from  the  course  he  had  marked  out.  After 
a  few  weeks,  the  principles  laid  down  to  be  observed  in  the  con 
duct  of  the  New  York  Custom-House  were  made  to  apply  to  the 
entire  civil  service.  This  was  accomplished  by  the  issuance  of 
the  following  executive  order  which  was  mailed  to  all  officers : 1  — 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION, 
WASHINGTON,  June  22,  1877. 

SIR,  —  I  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  the  following  paragraph  in  a 
letter  addressed  by  me  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  on  the  conduct 
to  be  observed  by  officers  of  the  general  Government  in  relation  to  the 
elections :  — 

"No  officer  should  be  required  or  permitted  to  take  part  in  the 

1  It  was  recalled  by  the  newspapers  of  the  day  that  a  similar  letter  had  been 
written  at  the  beginning  of  Harrison's  Administration  by  Daniel  Webster,  Sec 
retary  of  State,  which  said:  — 

"  Sir,  —  The  President  is  of  opinion  that  it  is  a  great  abuse  to  bring  the  patron 
age  of  the  general  Government  into  conflict  with  the  freedom  of  elections;  and 
that  this  abuse  ought  to  be  corrected  wherever  it  may  have  been  permitted  to 
exist,  and  to  be  prevented  in  future.  He  therefore  directs  that  information  be 
given  that  partisan  interference  in  popular  elections,  whether  of  state  officers  or 
officers  of  this  Government,  and  for  whomsoever  or  against  whomsoever  it  may 
be  exercised,  or  the  payment  of  any  contribution  or  assessment  on  salaries  or 
official  compensation  for  party  or  election  purposes,  will  be  regarded  by  him  as 
cause  of  removal. 

"It  is  not  intended  that  any  officer  shall  be  restrained  in  the  free  and  proper 
expression  and  maintenance  of  his  opinions  respecting  public  men  or  public 
measures,  or  in  the  exercise,  to  the  fullest  degree,  of  the  constitutional  right  of 
suffrage.  But  persons  employed  under  the  Government  and  paid  for  their  serv 
ices  out  of  the  public  treasury  are  not  expected  to  take  an  active  or  officious 
part  in  attempts  to  influence  the  minds  or  votes  of  others;  such  conduct  being 
deemed  inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution  and  the  duties  of  public 
agents  acting  under  it;  and  the  President  is  resolved,  so  far  as  depends  upon 
himself,  that,  while  the  exercise  of  the  elective  franchise  by  the  people  shall  be 
free  from  undue  influence  of  official  station  and  authority,  opinion  shall  also  be 
free  among  the  officers  and  agents  of  the  Government.  ..." 


80  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

management  of  political  organizations,  caucuses,  conventions,  or  election 
campaigns.  Their  right  to  vote  and  to  express  their  views  on  public 
questions,  either  orally  or  through  the  press,  is  not  denied,  provided 
it  does  not  interfere  with  the  discharge  of  their  official  duties.  No 
assessment  for  political  purposes,  on  officers  or  subordinates,  should  be 
allowed." 

This  rule  is  applicable  to  every  department  of  the  civil  service.  It 
should  be  understood  by  every  officer  of  the  general  Government  that 
he  is  expected  to  conform  his  conduct  to  its  requirements.  —  Very 
respectfully, 

R.  B.  HAYES. 

TO  THE . 

Thereupon  the  newspapers  of  the  important  cities  began  to 
publish  lists  of  the  federal  officeholders  of  their  locality  that  held 
official  relations  with  the  party  machine.  These  lists  gave  the 
general  public  a  startling  revelation  of  the  extent  of  the  mutual 
relations  and  interdependence  of  the  machine  and  the  office- 
holding  class.  They  were  conclusive  evidence  that  in  the  custom 
houses  and  post-offices  at  the  great  centres  of  population  the 
good  of  the  public  service  had  been  a  secondary  consideration 
in  making  appointments.  The  determining  factor  had  been  the 
demand  of  the  party  organization,  controlled  by  some  powerful 
party  leader. 

Meanwhile  vacancies  in  the  various  branches  of  the  civil  serv 
ice,  due  to  expiration  of  terms,  resignations,  or  deaths,  were 
being  gradually  filled,  and  in  most  cases  by  the  choice  of  men  that 
won  the  approbation  of  the  communities  affected,  while  the  men 
appointed  to  the  diplomatic  service  or  to  other  positions  of  na 
tion-wide  interest  were  with  rare  exceptions  men  whose  distinc 
tion  admittedly  approved  their  selection.1  In  some  of  the  few 
cases  of  dismissal  of  postmasters  or  collectors  bitter  contro 
versies  arose  and  the  action  taken  could  hardly  be  justified  on 

1  "He  [the  President]  has  appointed  none  of  the  old  'war  horses'  and  machine 
managers  to  office;  he  has  in  several  cases,  as  in  Baltimore,  displaced  notorious 
politicians,  and  he  has  continued,  slowly  and  with  great  care,  but  without  inter 
mission,  to  weed  incompetent  and  improper  persons  out  of  the  public  service. 
He  has  refused  to  make  removals  for  merely  political  reasons;  he  has  made  new 
appointments  in  disregard  of  political  considerations,  where  these  seemed  to  him 
to  come  in  conflict  with  the  public  interest.  He  has  caused  competent  and  faith 
ful  officers  to  feel  that  they  are  appreciated,  and  he  has  incurred  the  hatred  and 
opposition  of  incompetent  and  unworthy  officers  by  doing  his  duty  fearlessly 
toward  them.  He  has  breathed  a  new  spirit  into  the  public  service."  (New  York 
Herald,  editorial,  July  9,  1877.) 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM       81 

reform  principles;  rather  it  was  evident  that  factional  politics 
had  much  to  do  therewith.  It  is  clear  that  Mr.  Hayes  soon 
became  conscious  of  this,  for  August  5  he  writes  in  his  diary :  — 

I  grow  more  conservative  every  day  on  the  question  of  removals.  On 
ex  parte  statements  I  have  made  mistakes  in  removing  men  who  perhaps 
ought  to  have  been  retained,  and  in  appointing  wrong  men.  Not  many 
removals  have  been  made.  Less  than  by  any  new  Administration  since 
John  Q.  Adams.  But  I  shall  be  more  cautious  in  future  —  make  remov 
als  only  in  clear  cases,  and  appoint  men  only  on  the  best  and  fullest 
evidence  of  fitness. 

The  Forty-fourth  Congress  had  failed  to  pass  the  Army 
Appropriation  Bill  for  the  fiscal  year  beginning  July  1.  It  was 
thought  at  first  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  call  an  extra 
session  of  Congress  not  later  than  June  or  July  to  remedy  this 
failure.  But  the  President  and  the  Cabinet  after  much  consid 
eration  decided  that  it  would  be  possible  to  avoid  a  midsummer 
session  by  suspending  army  payments  for  the  first  quarter  of  the 
new  fiscal  year  and  so  postpone  the  extra  session  until  autumn. 
While  this  decision  provoked  much  adverse  criticism,  its  wis 
dom  was  promptly  recognized.  By  October  the  effect  of  the 
President's  Southern  policy  would  be  more  apparent,  and  the 
bitterness  of  feeling  that  its  adoption  had  aroused  in  the  hearts 
of  the  more  radical  Republicans  would  probably  be  greatly 
assuaged  so  that  a  calmer  judgment  could  find  expression.  Con 
gress  would  know  better  likewise  how  the  country  regarded  the 
civil  service  policy  and  the  fiscal  measures  of  the  Administra 
tion.1  The  President  issued  his  proclamation  on  May  5,  fixing 
Monday,  October  15,  as  the  date  for  the  beginning  of  the 
special  session. 

The  Democrats  had  a  small  majority  (thirteen)  in  the  new 
House  of  Representatives;  the  Republicans  a  majority  of  two 

1  "My  official  life  in  the  Presidency  has  so  far  been  successful  in  the  main  and 
happy.  The  country  does  seem  to  be  coming  back  to  the  ancient  concord,  and 
good  people  approve  what  I  am  trying  to  do.  ...  I  must  resolve  on  this  birthday 
to  do  better  in  the  future  than  ever  before.  With  good  health  and  great  oppor 
tunities,  may  I  not  hope  to  confer  great  and  lasting  benefits  on  my  country? 
I  mean  to  try.  Let  me  be  kind  and  considerate  in  treatment  of  the  unfortunate 
who  crowd  my  doorway,  and  firm  and  conscientious  in  dealing  with  the  tempt 
ers.  The  Southern  question  seems  to  be  on  a  good  footing.  The  currency  also. 
The  Mexican  question  is  perplexing.  The  improvement  of  the  civil  service,  I 
must  constantly  labor  for."  (Diary,  October  4,  1877.) 


82  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

in  the  Senate.1  There  had  been  some  slight  hope  that  enough  of 
the  Southern  Democrats  in  the  House  would  unite  with  the  Re 
publicans  to  make  Mr.  Garfield  Speaker;  but  that  hope  seems  to 
have  had  no  substantial  basis.  The  Democrats  promptly  reflected 
Mr.  Randall,  and  on  Tuesday  the  President's  special  message 
was  read.  This  briefly  asked  that  the  appropriation  for  the  army 
be  made  without  delay,  that  certain  deficiencies  in  other  De 
partments  be  provided  for,  and  that  provision  be  made  for  shar 
ing  in  the  Paris  Exposition  to  be  held  the  next  year.  It  is  not 
necessary  here  to  follow  the  proceedings  of  Congress.  The  legis 
lators  had  not  been  in  Washington  long  and  had  opportunity 
for  exchange  of  views  when  it  became  evident  that  many  of  the 
Republicans  were  antagonistic  to  the  President's  policies.  Mr. 
Hayes  was  quick  to  apprehend  the  situation,  for  which,  indeed, 
he  must  have  been  prepared  by  the  continued  fault-finding  of 
the  party  press  and  the  action  of  certain  Republican  state  con 
ventions.  Hostile  critics  were  freely  interpreting  the  defeat  of 
the  Republicans  in  the  October  election  in  the  President's  own 
State  as  evidence  of  the  unpopularity  of  the  President's  policy. 
October  24,  Mr.  Hayes  wrote  in  his  diary:  — 

It  is  now  obvious  that  there  is  a  very  decided  opposition  to  the 
Administration  in  both  houses  of  Congress,  among  the  Republican 
members.  There  seems  not  to  be  any  considerable  personal  hostility 
to  me.  But  a  conference  of  about  twenty  members  of  the  House  at  Mr. 
Sherman's  developed  a  decided  hostility  to  my  measures  on  the  part  of 
members  respectable  both  in  character  and  number.  Their  objections 
extend  to  all  of  my  principal  acts.  The  opposition  is  directed  against :  — 

1.  The  Cabinet.    It  is  said  there  are  only  four  Republican  members, 
namely,  Sherman,  Devens,  McCrary,  and  Thompson.    That  Evarts 
and  Schurz  are  disorganizes,  doctrinaires,  and  Liberals,  and  Key  is  a 
Democrat. 

2.  The  attempt  to  make  the  civil  service  non-partisan  is  ruinous  to 
the  party;  unjust  and  offensive  to  officeholders,  and  is  an  attempt 
to  accomplish  the  impossible,  namely,  a  non-partisan  civil  service. 

3.  The  pacification  of  the  South  is  a  total  departure  from  the  princi 
ples,  traditions,  and  wishes  of  the  party. 

A  majority  of  members  probably  favor  some  part  of  these  measures. 
Only  a  small  number  support  all  of  them.  The  adversary  points  to  the 
results  of  elections  as  showing  that  the  people  condemn  the  Administra 
tion,  and  that  it  is  destroying  the  party.  The  most  bitter  opposition 

1  This  counts  Senator  Davis  of  Illinois  with  the  Democrats  with  whom  he  had 
the  greater  sympathy. 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM       83 

arises  from  the  apprehension  that  the  course  of  the  Administration 
will: 

4.  Deprive  Congressmen  of  all  control  and  share  of  the  patronage  of 
the  Government. 

How  to  meet  and  overcome  this  opposition  is  the  question.  I  am  clear 
that  I  am  right.  I  believe  that  a  large  majority  of  the  best  people  are  in 
full  accord  with  me.  Now,  my  purpose  is  to  keep  cool  —  to  treat  all 
adversaries  considerately,  respectfully,  and  kindly,  but  at  the  same  time 
in  a  way  to  satisfy  them  of  my  sincerity  and  firmness;  in  all  parts  of  my 
official  conduct  to  strive  conscientiously  and  unselfishly  to  do  what  is 
wise.  In  my  anxiety  to  complete  the  great  work  of  pacification  I  have 
neglected  to  give  due  attention  to  the  civil  service  —  to  the  appoint 
ments  and  removals.  The  result  is,  some  bad  appointments  have  been 
made.  Some  removals  have  been  mistakes.  There  have  been  delays  in 
action.  All  this  I  must  try  now  to  correct. 

Believing  that  his  policy  was  right  and  that  it  commanded  the 
approval  of  the  best  sentiment  of  the  country,  Mr.  Hayes  re 
fused  to  be  discouraged  by  disaffection  among  the  members  of 
his  own  party  in  Congress.  It  was  no  more  than  he  might  have 
expected,  from  the  very  nature  of  things,  when  lie  relinquished 
the  accepted  Republican  policy  in  the  South  and  began  his 
attack  on  the  long-established  spoils  system.1  In  his  first  annual 
message,  presented  to  Congress  December  3,  1877,  Mr.  Hayes 
had  this  to  say  of  civil  service  reform :  — 

The  organization  of  the  civil  service  of  the  country  has  for  a  number 
of  years  attracted  more  and  more  of  the  public  attention.  So  general 
has  become  the  opinion  that  the  methods  of  admission  to  it,  and  the 
conditions  of  remaining  in  it,  are  unsound,  that  both  the  great  political 
parties  have  agreed  in  the  most  explicit  declarations  of  the  necessity  of 
reform,  and  in  the  most  emphatic  demands  for  it.  I  have  fully  believed 

1  "We  do  not  believe  that  the  President  misunderstands  the  situation  in  the 
least  degree.  He  knows,  doubtless  as  well  as  any  one,  that  to  call  into  his  Cabinet 
an  ex-Rebel  Democrat,  the  Greeley  leader  of  1872,  and  the  New  Yorker  whom 
the  dominant  influence  in  the  Republican  party  of  that  State  especially  disliked, 
—  to  follow  such  acts  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops  in  Louisiana  and  South 
Carolina,  and  then  to  prohibit  ofEceholding  management  of  politics,  —  was  to 
arouse  a  deadly  hostility  within  his  own  party.  If  he  had  any  doubt  upon  the 
subject,  it  would  have  been  instantly  removed  by  the  opposition  of  Mr.  Blaine 
in  the  Senate;  by  the  amazement  of  part  of  the  Republican  press,  deepening  into 
indignation  as  his  Administration  proceeded;  by  the  condemning  silence  of  the 
Iowa  convention;  by  the  demonstration  at  Woodstock,  and  its  loud  laudation 
by  the  same  press;  by  the  sullen  contempt  for  the  prohibitory  order;  by  the  wrath 
with  the  custom-house  investigating  commission;  and  by  the  emphatic  but  in 
direct  censure  of  the  Maine  convention."  (George  William  Curtis,  Harper's 
Weekly,  September  15,  1877.) 


84  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

these  declarations  and  demands  to  be  the  expression  of  a  sincere  convic 
tion  of  the  intelligent  masses  of  the  people  upon  the  subject,  and  that 
they  should  be  recognized  and  followed  by  earnest  and  prompt  action  on 
the  part  of  the  legislative  and  executive  departments  of  the  Govern 
ment,  in  pursuance  of  the  purpose  indicated. 

Before  my  accession  to  office  I  endeavored  to  have  my  own  views 
distinctly  understood,  and  upon  my  inauguration  my  accord  with  the 
public  opinion  was  stated  in  terms  believed  to  be  plain  and  unambigu 
ous.  My  experience  in  the  executive  duties  has  strongly  confirmed  the 
belief  in  the  great  advantage  the  country  would  find  in  observing  strictly 
the  plan  of  the  Constitution,  which  imposes  upon  the  Executive  the  sole 
duty  and  responsibility  of  the  selection  of  those  federal  officers  who,  by 
law,  are  appointed,  not  elected;  and  which,  in  like  manner,  assigns  to 
the  Senate  the  complete  right  to  advise  and  consent  to,  or  to  reject,  the 
nominations  so  made;  whilst  the  House  of  Representatives  stands  as  the 
public  censor  of  the  performance  of  official  duties,  with  the  prerogative 
of  investigation  and  prosecution  in  all  cases  of  dereliction.  The  blem 
ishes  and  imperfections  in  the  civil  service  may,  as  I  think,  be  traced,  in 
most  cases,  to  a  practical  confusion  of  the  duties  assigned  to  the  several 
departments  of  the  Government.  My  purpose,  in  this  respect,  has  been 
to  return  to  the  system  established  by  the  fundamental  law,  and  to  do 
this  with  the  heartiest  cooperation  and  most  cordial  understanding  with 
the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 

The  practical  difficulties  in  the  selection  of  numerous  officers  for  posts 
of  widely  varying  responsibilities  and  duties  are  acknowledged  to  be 
very  great.  No  system  can  be  expected  to  secure  absolute  freedom  from 
mistakes,  and  the  beginning  of  any  attempted  change  of  custom  is  quite 
likely  to  be  more  embarrassed  in  this  respect  than  any  subsequent 
period.  It  is  here  that  the  Constitution  seems  to  me  to  prove  its  claim 
to  the  great  wisdom  accorded  to  it.  It  gives  to  the  Executive  the  assist 
ance  of  the  knowledge  and  experience  of  the  Senate,  which,  when  acting 
upon  nominations  as  to  which  they  may  be  disinterested  and  impartial 
judges,  secures  as  strong  a  guaranty  of  freedom  from  errors  of  impor 
tance  as  is  perhaps  possible  in  human  affairs. 

In  addition  to  this,  I  recognize  the  public  advantage  of  making  all 
nominations,  as  nearly  as  possible,  impersonal,  in  the  sense  of  being  free 
from  mere  caprice  or  favor  in  the  selection;  and  in  those  offices  in  which 
special  training  is  of  greatly  increased  value,  I  believe  such  a  rule  as  to 
the  tenure  of  office  should  obtain  as  may  induce  men  of  proper  qualifica 
tions  to  apply  themselves  industriously  to  the  task  of  becoming  profi 
cients.  Bearing  these  things  in  mind,  I  have  endeavored  to  reduce  the 
number  of  changes  in  subordinate  places  usually  made  upon  the  change 
of  the  general  administration,  and  shall  most  heartily  cooperate  with 
Congress  in  the  better  systematizing  of  such  methods  and  rules  of  ad 
mission  to  the  public  service,  and  of  promotion  within  it,  as  may  promise 
to  be  most  successful  in  making  thorough  competency,  efficiency,  and 
character  the  decisive  tests  in  these  matters. 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM       85 

I  ask  the  renewed  attention  of  Congress  to  what  has  already  been 
done  by  the  Civil  Service  Commission,  appointed  in  pursuance  of  an 
act  of  Congress  by  my  predecessor,  to  prepare  and  revise  civil  service 
rules.  In  regard  to  much  of  the  departmental  service,  especially  at 
Washington,  it  may  be  difficult  to  organize  a  better  system  than  that 
which  has  thus  been  provided,  and  it  is  now  being  used  to  a  considerable 
extent  under  my  direction.  The  commission  has  still  a  legal  existence, 
although  for  several  years  no  appropriation  has  been  made  for  defraying 
its  expenses.  Believing  that  this  commission  has  rendered  valuable  serv 
ice,  and  will  be  a  most  useful  agency  in  improving  the  administration  of 
the  civil  service,  I  respectfully  recommend  that  a  suitable  appropriation, 
to  be  immediately  available,  be  made  to  enable  it  to  continue  its  labors. 

It  is  my  purpose  to  transmit  to  Congress  as  early  as  practicable  a 
report  by  the  chairman  of  the  commission,  and  to  ask  your  attention  to 
such  measures  on  this  subject  as  in  my  opinion  will  further  promote  the 
improvement  of  the  civil  service.1 

Meanwhile,  it  had  become  evident  that  there  could  be  small 
hope  of  taking  the  New  York  Custom-House  out  of  politics  as 
long  as  Collector  Arthur  and  the  other  chief  officers  were  men 
who,  not  only  had  no  sympathy  with  reform  principles,  but  be 
lieved  thoroughly  in  using  their  official  power  and  position  in  the 
management  and  control  of  the  New  York  Republican  machine. 
Mr.  Cornell,  the  Naval  Officer,  was  the  chairman  of  the  Republi 
can  State  Committee,  and  he  had  openly  defied  the  President's 
order  of  June  22  by  continuing  to  act  in  that  capacity.  If  such 
conduct  on  the  part  of  so  conspicuous  an  officer  was  condoned, 
the  President's  order  would  at  once  have  become  a  dead  letter. 
It  would  have  been  a  virtual  announcement  to  all  government 
employees  that  the  order  had  been  suspended  or  abrogated.2 

1  "The  message  has  been  well  received  —  encouragingly  so.   It  has  but  little 
on  the  reform  of  the  civil  service.   I  must  now  prepare  a  special  message.   Let 
me  say:  — 

"1.  There  should  be  legislation  [which]  will  relieve  Congressmen  from  all 
responsibility  for  the  appointments.  They  must  neither  seek  to  control  nor  even 
to  influence  appointments. 

"If  Congress  fails  to  legislate  for  this  end,  I  must  adopt  and  publish  rules. 

"  2.  Divorce  officeholders  from  the  active  management  of  politics. 

"3.  Admit  to  subordinate  places  on  examinations. 

"4.  Retain  all  good  officers  during  their  terms  and  establish  rules."  (Diary, 
December  6,  1877.) 

2  It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  this  order  was  never  consistently  and 
effectively  enforced.   It  did  check  and  restrict  the  interference  of  officeholders 
in  politics;  but  as  men  that  violated  its  injunctions  were  not  invariably  and 
promptly  dismissed,  it  gradually  came  to  be  looked  on  more  as  a  counsel  of 


86  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

At  the  same  time  it  was  obvious  that  the  attempt  to  supersede 
the  custom-house  officers  would  be  fiercely  contested  by  Senator 
Conkling,  whose  lieutenants  they  were.  The  Republican  state 
convention  at  Rochester  in  September,  which  was  dominated  by 
Mr.  Conkling,  had  exultantly  rejected  a  resolution  commend 
ing  the  President's  reform  programme.  Under  the  vicious 
"courtesy  of  the  Senate"  canon,  and  with  the  widespread  dis 
affection  among  the  more  radical  Republicans  toward  the  Presi 
dent's  policies,  there  was  strong  probability  that  any  new  men 
the  President  might  name  would  fail  of  confirmation.  But  the 
President  did  not  hesitate  to  do  his  part.  Messrs.  Arthur  and 
Cornell  refused  to  resign  when  requested  to  do  so.  Whereupon 
the  President  decided  on  their  removal,  and  early  in  November 
sent  to  the  Senate  the  names  of  Theodore  Roosevelt,  L.  Brad 
ford  Prince,  and  Edwin  A.  Merritt  to  succeed  Mr.  Arthur,  Col 
lector,  Mr.  Cornell,  Naval  Officer,  and  Mr.  Sharpe,  Surveyor  of 
the  Port  (whose  term  had  expired) .  And  at  once  the  fight  was 
on.  The  sober  sense  of  the  country  and  the  more  influential 
journals  that  were  committed  to  reform  applauded  the  Presi 
dent's  action;  the  practical  politicians  and  the  papers  that  re 
flected  their  views  raised  a  clamor  of  condemnation.  Mr. 
Conkling  labored  unceasingly  to  defend  the  prescriptive  right 
of  a  Senator  to  veto  appointments  in  his  State  that  he  had 
not  suggested  or  approved.  It  was  an  insult  to  his  dignity,  an 

perfection  than  as  an  imperative  rule  of  conduct.  Civil  service  reformers  of  the 
straitest  sect  were  sadly  disappointed  at  the  President's  failure  to  punish  in 
fractions  of  the  order.  But  the  average  opinion  of  the  country  regarded  his  con 
duct  leniently,  not  yet  being  educated  (who  will  venture  to  say  that  it  even  now 
is?)  to  resent  official  meddling  in  political  processes  and  party  manipulation. 

On  this  subject,  a  year  after  his  retirement  from  the  White  House,  Mr.  Hayes 
wrote  in  his  diary  (July  4,  1882) :  — 

"I  occasionally  hear  that  the  rule  as  to  interference  of  federal  officers  in  elec 
tions  was  not  enforced.  But  it  must  be  admitted  that  on  this  subject  a  vast  and 
beneficial  change  was  effected.  The  Administration  did  not  through  its  office 
holders  interfere  or  seek  to  interfere  with  the  freedom  of  elections.  Those  who 
were  active  were  not  as  a  rule  friends  of  the  Administration,  but  its  opponents. 
Take  the  case  of  the  important  offices  at  Portland,  Boston,  Providence,  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  etc.,  etc.  For  the  first  [time]  in  fifty 
years  those  great  offices  were  not  used  to  promote  the  party  and  personal  ends 
of  the  Administration. 

"  As  to  assessments.  All  officers  were  distinctly  notified  that  they  need  not  con 
tribute  to  political  purposes.  There  were  large  numbers  who  did  not  do  so,  and  none 
of  them  were  removed,  or  prejudiced  by  their  neglect  or  refusal  to  contribute." 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM       87 

interference  with  his  party  authority,  an  assault  on  the  party 
itself,  for  the  President  to  displace  his  friends,  his  coadjutors  in 
defending  and  fortifying  the  Republican  cause  in  the  Empire 
State,  and  to  appoint  men  in  their  stead  without  consulting  his 
wishes.  In  standing  out  against  such  action,  he  would  not  be 
thought  of  as  swayed  by  merely  personal  motives;  he  was  seek 
ing  to  preserve  the  dignity  of  the  Senate  itself.  Let  these  nomi 
nations,  which  were  most  obnoxious  to  him,  be  confirmed  and 
what  had  become  of  the  "courtesy  of  the  Senate,"  that  benefi 
cent  principle  which  recognized  the  Senators  of  each  State  (of 
the  dominant  party)  as  best  fitted  to  determine  the  propriety 
of  any  appointment  from  their  State?  The  Republican  Senators 
generally  supported  Conkling,  even  Blaine  for  the  time  consent 
ing  to  assist  his  dearest  enemy.  Mr.  Hayes  watched  the  prog 
ress  of  the  controversy  which  continued  among  the  Senators  for 
many  days.  December  9  he  wrote  in  his  diary:  — 

I  am  now  in  a  contest  on  the  question  of  the  right  of  Senators  to  dic 
tate  or  control  nominations.  Mr.  Conkling  insists  that  no  officer  shall 
be  appointed  in  New  York  without  his  consent,  obtained  previously  to 
the  nomination.  This  is  the  first  and  most  important  step  in  the  effort 
to  reform  the  civil  service.  It  now  becomes  a  question  whether  I  should 
not  insist  that  all  who  receive  important  places  should  be  on  the  right 
side  of  this  vital  question.  None  who  are  opposed  to  the  Cincinnati  plat 
form  on  this  important  question  are  to  be  regarded  as  Republicans  in 
good  standing.  How  would  this  do?  Rather  radical,  probably,  but  if 
the  war  goes  on  I  must  think  of  it. 1 

Finally  the  nominations  came  to  a  vote.  Mr.  Roosevelt  and 
Mr.  Prince  failed  of  confirmation  and  Mr.  Merritt  was  ap 
proved,  in  accordance  with  the  recommendation  of  Mr.  Conk- 
ling's  committee.  Whereupon  Mr.  Hayes  calmly  wrote:  — 

December  13,  1877.  —  In  the  language  of  the  press,  "  Senator  Conk 
ling  has  won  a  great  victory  over  the  Administration."  My  New  York 

1  "The  Senatorial  usurpation  is  now  the  question.  The  immediate  result  is 
in  doubt.  In  the  end  the  claim  of  a  single  Senator  to  control  all  nominations  in 
his  State  will  be  found  so  preposterous  that  it  will  fall  of  its  own  weight."  (From 
letter  of  Mr.  Hayes  to  William  Henry  Smith,  December  8,  1877.) 

"It  looks  as  if  the  courtesy,  esprit  de  carps,  etc.,  etc.,  of  the  Senate  would  keep 
them  in  Conkling's  hands.  I  can't  think  this  will  in  the  long  run  succeed.  In 
any  event,  I  shall  go  on  in  the  path  I  have  chosen.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the 
division  exists,  but  I  do  not  feel  blamable,  and  shall  try  not  to  increase  it  heed 
lessly."  (From  letter  of  Mr.  Hayes  to  General  M.  F.  Force,  December  12, 1877.) 


88  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 


nominations  were  rejected,  31  toSS.1  But  the  end  is  not  yet.  I  am  right, 
and  shall  not  give  up  the  contest. 

Mr.  Hayes  was  too  good  a  general  to  abandon  a  campaign 
which  he  had  carefully  planned  because  of  one  defeat.  Delay  in 
further  action  might  be  necessary,  while  other  subjects  of  grave 
interest  were  demanding  attention,  but  the  contest  was  to  go  on 
until  victory  was  achieved.2  Other  names  might  have  been  sent 

1  Only  a  few  Republicans  voted  in  favor  of  confirmation. 

2  The  more  ardent  advocates  of  ideal  civil  service  reform  criticized  Mr.  Hayes 
because  he  had  not  at  once  removed  the  New  York  Custom-House  officers  when 
the  Jay  commission's  first  report  was  made.    It  was  apparent  that  no  reform 
could  be  expected  from  them.   Probably  that  would  have  been  the  wiser  as  it 
would  have  been  the  bolder  course.  That  Mr.  Hayes  was  touched  by  this  criti 
cism  is  apparent  from  the  following  letter:  — 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION, 
WASHINGTON,  December  31,  1877. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  your  note  of  the  26th.  It  would  gratify  me,  and  I 
think  be  useful  to  the  cause,  if  we  could  have  a  good  long  talk  over  the  situation. 
If  you  can  write  me  your  views  or  rather  precisely  what  ought  to  be  said  in  the 
message  on  reform,  it  would  aid  greatly.  How  to  appoint?  How  to  remove? 
How  to  divorce  officeholding  from  the  active  work  of  party  politics?  How  to 
separate  the  legislative  from  the  executive  function  of  appointment  —  are  the 
points.  I  am  sorry  to  find  in  your  note  even  a  hint  that  you  doubt  my  loyalty 
to  the  minority  in  this  contest.  Loss  of  confidence  in  those  who  lose  a  fight,  or 
even  a  skirmish,  is  common;  but  I  hope  it  will  not  be,  in  this  case,  permanent. 
—  Sincerely, 

R.  B.  HAYES. 
HON.  GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS. 

March  12,  1878,  reviewing  in  his  diary  the  first  year  of  his  Administration, 
Mr.  Hayes  finds  much  achieved  to  improve  the  civil  service.  He  writes:  — 

"The  end  of  the  first  year  of  my  Administration  furnishes  a  topic  for  the  press. 
There  is  enough  of  favorable  comment  from  independent  papers  like  the  New 
York  Post,  the  [Cincinnati]  Gazette,  the  [Cincinnati]  Commercial,  the  Boston 
Advertiser,  the  Philadelphia  papers,  and  notably  the  religious  newspapers;  but 
the  body  of  the  party  papers  of  both  parties  are  the  other  way.  The  main  point 
is  that  the  President  has  so  few  supporters  in  Congress  and  among  the  news 
papers. 

"It  is  to  be  remarked  that  a  non-partisan  President  or  Administration  will, 
of  course,  be  feebly  supported,  if  at  all,  in  Congress  or  by  the  press.  The  party 
men  do  not  like  it  among  the  Republicans,  and  Democrats  find  no  interest  in 
heartily  supporting  an  Administration  they  did  not  elect.  On  the  whole,  the 
Republican  party  has  been  strengthened  rather  than  weakened  by  the  Adminis 
tration.  We  are  in  a  period  when  old  questions  are  settled,  and  the  new  are  not 
yet  brought  forward.  Extreme  party  action  if  continued  in  such  a  time  would 
ruin  the  party.  Moderation  is  its  only  chance.  The  party  out  of  power  gains  by 
all  partisan  conduct  of  those  in  power.  On  the  whole,  the  year's  work  has  pro 
duced  results. 

"1.  Peace,  safety,  order  in  the  South  to  an  extent  not  known  for  half  a  cen 
tury. 


JAMES   M.  COMLY  BAYAKI>  TAYLOR 

ANDREW  D.   WHITE  JAMES  RUSSELL   LOWELL  E.   W.   STOUGHTON 

JOHN  A.   KASSON  EDWARD  F.   NOYES  JOHN  WELSH 


PRESIDENT  HAYES'S  DIPLOMATIC  APPOINTMENTS 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM       89 

to  the  Senate,  but  as  Messrs.  Roosevelt  and  Prince  were  not 
rejected  because  of  unfitness,  there  was  no  likelihood  that  the 
Senate  in  its  present  temper  would  treat  other  names  with  favor. 
What  its  temper  was,  at  least  as  manifested  by  the  controlling 
spirits,  is  indicated  by  Senator  Howe's  bitter  speech  l  late  in 
March,  1878,  and  by  Senator  Sargent's  effort  to  commit  the 
Republican  congressional  caucus  to  a  repudiation  of  the  Presi 
dent's  civil  service  order.  April  13,  1878  Mr.  Hayes  writes:  — 

The  Republican  Congressmen  held  a  caucus  early  this  week  for  or 
ganization.  The  feature  of  the  affair  was  the  failure  of  Senator  Sargent 

"  2.  The  riots  —  not  a  man  shot,  but  order  promptly  and  firmly  upheld. 

"  3.  A  vigorous  and  successful  Mexican  policy. 

"4.  Civil  service  reforms :  (a)  No  nepotism  in  executive  appointments.  (&)  No 
machine  work  by  federal  officeholders,  in  caucuses  or  elections,  (c)  Congres 
sional  dictation  resisted,  —  for  the  most  part  successfully,  (d)  Removals  ex 
cept  for  cause  not  made;  fewer  removals  than  under  any  Administration  in  its 
first  year  since  John  Q.  Adams's,  (e)  Officers  secure  in  their  terms,  if  conduct, 
official  and  private,  is  good. 

"5.  The  financial  management  has  steadily  adhered  to  the  policy  of  a  sound 
currency,  untainted  credit,  and  a  faithful  fulfilment  of  pecuniary  obligations. 

"6.  The  pervading  sense  of  responsibility  for  faithful  and  honest  official  con 
duct  has  given  purity  and  efficiency  to  the  service.  Fewer  scandals  than  before 
in  many  years. 

"7.  A  list  of  foreign  appointments,  and  officials  retained,  that  will  compare 
well  with  any  previous  period  in  our  history.  Look  at  our  European  representa 
tives:  Welsh,  England;  Noyes,  France;  Taylor,  Germany;  Lowell,  Spain;  Marsh, 
Italy;  Kasson,  Austria;  Stoughton,  Russia;  Maynard,  Turkey;  Read,  Greece. 

"8.  The  most  important  appointments  are  the  judicial.  They  are  for  life, 
and  the  judiciary  of  the  country  concerns  all  interests  public  and  private.  My 
appointments  will  bear  examination:  Harlan,  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court; 
Baxter  and  Blatchford,  Circuit  Court;  Bancroft  Davis,  Court  of  Claims;  Dis 
trict  judges  in  Vermont,  Wisconsin,  New  York. 

"9.  Bureau  officers  appointed:  McCormick,  Defrees,  Tyner,  General  Le  Due, 
Hawley,  McPherson,  Porter,  Reynolds,  Schofield." 

The  next  day  he  writes:  — 

"The  election  of  Governor  Prescott  and  the  administration  ticket  in  New 
Hampshire,  notwithstanding  the  defection  of  Chandler  and  his  followers,  is 
very  gratifying.  It  encourages  me  to  be  more  and  more  faithful  in  adhering  to 
reform  of  the  civil  service.  Let  me  disregard  more  and  more  'influence'  of  every 
sort,  and  be  guided  by  a  sense  of  duty  alone.  It  is  hard  to  have  friends  made 
sour  because  their  wishes  are  not  heeded.  Newspaper  and  other  abuse  is  not 
comforting,  to  say  the  least.  But  the  second  thought  of  the  best  people  is  I 
believe  with  me.  —  Good  for  New  Hampshire!" 

1  "Senator  Howe,  of  Wisconsin,  made  his  long-heralded  speech  against  the 
Administration.  It  was  crammed  full  of  hatred  and  prejudice.  But  it  showed 
his  malice  without  introducing  any  new  fact  or  argument.  His  grievance  is  the 
failure  to  appoint  him  judge."  (Diary,  March  26,  1878.) 


90  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

to  procure  the  passage  of  a  resolution  condemning  the  civil  service  order 
of  the  President  which  forbids  federal  officeholders  from  managing  the 
party  politics  of  the  country.  His  resolutions  request  the  President  to 
rescind  this  order.  Senator  Sargent  wishes  the  doctrine  announced  that 
the  ninety  thousand  officials  in  the  executive  branch  of  the  civil  service 
shall  participate  "in  meetings,  caucuses,  conventions,  and  committees 
of  a  political  character."  This  resolution  of  Senator  Sargent  and  the 
speech  of  Senator  Howe  present  very  fairly  the  issue  between  the  Senate 
and  the  Republican  party.  Sargent  and  Howe  think  that  Senators  should 
appoint  the  officeholders  and  that  the  officeholders  should  manage  the 
politics  of  the  country.  This  would  be  in  my  judgment  a  very  unfortu 
nate  issue  for  the  party  to  adopt.  The  doctrine  of  the  party  in  1876 
before  the  election  was  that  officeholders  should  be  appointed  by  the 
President  and  confirmed  by  the  Senate;  and  that  their  whole  services 
belonged  to  the  Government.  The  Senators'  doctrine  reverses  this. 
They  say  we  will  appoint  the  officers,  and  our  officers  shall  rule  the 
party,  and  our  party  shall  rule  the  country.  With  this  senatorial  claim 
the  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  have  very  little  personal 
interest.  If  the  patronage  of  the  Government  is  to  be  controlled  by 
Congress,  that  branch  of  Congress  will  absorb  it  which  has  the  power 
of  confirmation.  The  Senate  will  leave  to  the  House  only  what  it  does 
not  want. 

This  question  of  senatorial  patronage  is  the  salient  point  in  the  im 
provement  of  the  civil  service.  It  is  the  interest  of  the  country  that  its 
business  shall  be  well  done  and  that  the  area  of  patronage  shall  be  lim 
ited.  But  if  the  officeholders  are  to  look  after  party  politics,  to  make 
nominations,  and  to  win  party  victories,  they  will  be  appointed  not 
for  fitness  to  discharge  the  legitimate  duties  of  their  offices,  but  for 
skill  in  wire-pulling.  No  Senator  would  diminish  their  number.  If 
ninety  thousand  are  useful,  a  hundred  thousand  will  be  still  more 
useful.  The  Howe  and  Sargent  system  is  that  Senators  shall  make  the 
officeholders,  and  that  the  officeholders  shall  make  the  Senators.  How 
many  victories  can  the  Republican  party  gain  on  such  a  platform? 
The  watchword  of  the  people  against  the  officeholders  would  soon 
be  raised,  and  the  party  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  question  would  go 
under. 

I  would  say  the  same  about  the  order  as  to  officeholders.  It  did  at  the 
first  elections  after  its  issue  disorganize  the  party.  The  accustomed  man 
agers  were  many  of  them  in  office.  For  the  most  part  the  officeholders 
obeyed  the  order.  This  created  disturbance.  But  the  committees  have 
been  reorganized.  Volunteers  have  been  found  to  take  the  places  of  the 
regular  machine  men.  The  new  blood  is  vigorous.  The  late  elections 
show  it.  New  Hampshire  and  Rhode  Island  Republicans  fought  suc 
cessful  battles  with  new  men.  The  people  have  always  had  a  certain 
feeling  against  the  dictation  of  officeholders.  "They  ought  to  mind  their 
own  business"  has  often  been  heard,  and  still  oftener  has  been  thought. 
Jefferson  and  the  earlier  statesmen  opposed  it.  Clay  and  Webster  and 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM       91 

other  Whig  leaders  were  against  it.  Howe  and  Sargent  do  not  represent 
the  best  sentiment  of  the  party  on  this  subject.  I  have  from  Milwaukee 
a  protest  against  Senator  Howe's  speech.  It  is  signed  by  the  best  Repub 
licans  in  the  principal  city  of  his  State.  I  do  not  hear  of  any  popular 
endorsement  in  his  own  State  of  his  doctrines.  It  is  said  that  nine  tenths 
of  the  Republicans  of  Milwaukee  are  opposed  to  them. 

I  do  not  defend  mistakes  in  methods.  I  do  not  insist  on  my  own  par 
ticular  plans.  If  better  plans  are  proposed,  I  shall  be  ready  to  support 
them.  But  the  important  ends  must  not  be  abandoned.  Officeholders 
must  attend  to  the  public  business,  and  not  become  organized  political 
machines.  (The  appointing  power  may  be  regulated  by  law,  to  the  end 
that  honesty,  efficiency,  and  economy  may  be  promoted,  but  it  must  not 
be  transferred  to  the  Senate.  It  must  be  left  where  the  Constitution 
placed  it."  Officeholders  who  participate  actively  in  politics  do  not 
strengthen  a  party  of  principle.  People  resent  their  interference.  It  is 
felt  that  officeholders  are  the  servants  of  the  public,  and  ought  not  to 
assume  to  be  masters. 

It  is  said  that  this  doctrine  degrades  the  officer.  Are  our  present  offi 
cers  degraded?  Do  you  not  honor  the  officer  who  faithfully  attends  to 
his  duty?  Do  the  officers  feel  humiliated?  I  do  not  hear  of  resignations 
on  this  account. 

Meanwhile,  further  investigation  was  made  by  the  Treasury 
Department  of  the  methods  pursued  by  the  New  York  Custom- 
House  in  the  conduct  of  the  Government's  business,1  which 
only  served  to  confirm  the  findings  of  the  Jay  commission, 
though  many  of  the  recommendations  of  that  commission  had 
reluctantly  been  put  in  effect  by  Mr.  Arthur.2  As  Mr.  Sherman 
later  informed  the  Senate:  "  A  very  brief  experience  proved  that 
any  hope  of  carrying  out  any  systematic  reforms  or  changes  in 
the  mode  of  conducting  the  business  would  be  abortive  while  the 
collector  held  his  position.  The  same  system,  the  same  persons, 

1  Among  the  abuses  prevailing  in  the  New  York  Custom-House  were  excessive 
damage  allowances  and  undervaluation  of  imports.  These  led  to  great  complaints 
from  merchants  of  other  cities,  who  found  it  impossible  to  import  goods  directly 
and  compete  with  New  York  importers.    William  Henry  Smith,  collector  at 
Chicago,  was  largely  instrumental  in  directing  attention  to  these  abuses  and 
getting  them  corrected. 

2  "The  President  was  strongly  of  the  opinion,  upon  the  reports  of  the  Jay 
commission,  that  the  public  interests  demanded  a  change  in  the  leading  offices 
in  the  New  York  Custom-House.   I  preferred  to  try  to  execute  the  reforms  pro 
posed  with  Mr.  Arthur  in  office,  rather  than  a  stranger.    The  President  acqui 
esced  in  this  view,  but  gradually  it  became  evident  that  neither  Mr.  Arthur  nor 
Mr.  Cornell  was  in  sympathy  with  the  recommendations  of  the  commission, 
and  could  and  did  obstruct  their  fair  execution."    (John  Sherman,  January  15, 
1879,  to  the  Senate.) 


92  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

the  same  influences  prevailed  as  before."  l  Consequently,  soon 
after  the  adjournment  of  Congress  the  President,  in  midsum 
mer,  1878,  exercised  his  right  to  suspend  the  discredited  officers, 
putting  E.  A.  Merritt  in  Mr.  Arthur's  place  2  and  S.  W.  Burt  in 
Mr.  Cornell's  place.  Both  appointments  were  in  the  nature  of 
promotions,  Mr.  Merritt  having,  as  Surveyor  of  the  Port,  in 
troduced  many  reforms  since  his  appointment  in  the  December 
preceding,  and  Mr.  Burt  having,  as  Mr.  Cornell's  deputy,  been 
performing  practically  all  the  duties  of  the  office.  Charles  K. 
Graham  was  appointed  to  succeed  General  Merritt  as  Surveyor 
of  the  Port.  The  action  of  the  President  was  applauded  by  all 
intelligent  friends  of  reform.  The  partisans  of  Conkling,  on  the 
other  hand,  broke  into  a  very  frenzy  of  denunciation  and  abuse.3 
The  new  officers  proceeded  at  once  to  introduce  more  business 
like  methods,  and  the  improvement  in  the  service  was  already 
noteworthy  by  the  time  Congress  reassembled  in  December. 
The  President  at  once  sent  his  nominations  to  the  Senate.  Mr. 
Conkling  and  the  spoilsmongers  again  sought  to  defeat  the  Pres 
ident.  In  his  diary,  December  16,  Mr.  Hayes  writes:  — 

The  political  event  of  the  last  week  is  the  opposition  of  Conkling  to 
the  New  York  appointments.  This  is  a  test  case.  The  Senators  gener 
ally  prefer  to  confirm  Merritt  and  Graham.  But  many,  perhaps  a  ma 
jority,  will  not  oppose  Conkling  on  the  question.  Senatorial  courtesy, 
the  senatorial  prerogative,  and  the  fear  of  Conkling's  vengeance  in 
future  control  them.  He  is,  like  Butler,  more  powerful  because  he  is 
vindictive  and  not  restrained  by  conscience.  The  most  noticeable 
weakness  of  Congressmen  is  their  timidity.  They  fear  the  use  to  be 
made  of  their  "record."  They  are  afraid  of  making  enemies.  They  do 
not  vote  according  to  their  convictions  from  fear  of  consequences. 

Conkling  and  his  confederates  were  able  to  delay  action  for 
two  months,  during  which  time  discussion  of  the  whole  episode 
became  a  burden  to  the  public  mind.  Finally,  January  31,  the 
President  sent  to  the  Senate  a  special  message,  transmitting  a 
letter  of  Secretary  Sherman  which  clearly  set  forth  the  reasons 
for  the  suspension  of  Messrs.  Arthur  and  Cornell.  The  message, 

*  Ibid. 

2  Theodore  Roosevelt  had  died  meanwhile,  or  he  might  have  been  reappointed. 

3  "The  supporters  of  Senator  Conkling  burst  into  furious  denunciation  of 
the  act  as  a  gross  insult  to  the  Senate,  and  a  treachery,  a  defiance,  a  stab  in  the 
back,  a  foul  blow,  an  outrage,  a  persecution,  and  every  other  kind  of  infamous 
proceeding  toward  the  Senator."   (Harper's  Weekly,  August  18,  1878.) 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM       93 

which  forcibly  presented  the  President's  views,  was  as  fol 
lows  :  — 
To  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES:  — 

I  transmit  herewith  a  letter  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  rela 
tion  to  the  suspension  of  the  late  Collector  and  Naval  Officer  of  the  Port 
of  New  York,  with  accompanying  documents. 

In  addition  thereto  I  respectfully  submit  the  following  observations: 

The  custom-house  in  New  York  collects  more  than  two  thirds  of  all 
the  customs  revenues  of  the  Government.  Its  administration  is  a  matter, 
not  of  local  interest  merely,  but  is  of  great  importance  to  the  people  of 
the  whole  country  For  a  long  period  of  time  it  has  been  used  to  manage 
and  control  political  affairs.  The  officers  suspended  by  me  are,  and  for 
several  years  have  been,  engaged  in  the  active  personal  management  of 
the  party  politics  of  the  city  and  State  of  New  York.  The  duties  of  the 
offices  held  by  them  have  been  regarded  as  of  subordinate  importance 
to  their  partisan  work.  Their  offices  have  been  conducted  as  part  of  the 
political  machinery  under  their  control.  They  have  made  the  custom 
house  a  centre  of  partisan  political  management. 

The  custom-house  should  be  a  business  office.  It  should  be  conducted 
on  business  principles.  General  James,  the  postmaster  of  New  York 
City,  writing  on  the  subject,  says:  "The  post-office  is  a  business  institu 
tion,  and  should  be  run  as  such.  It  is  my  deliberate  judgment  that  I  and 
my  subordinates  can  do  more  for  the  party  of  our  choice  by  giving  the 
people  of  this  city  a  good  and  efficient  postal  service  than  by  controlling 
primaries  or  dictating  nominations."  The  New  York  Custom-House 
should  be  placed  on  the  same  footing  with  the  New  York  Post-Office. 
But  under  the  suspended  officers  the  custom-house  would  be  one  of  the 
principal  political  agencies  in  the  State  of  New  York.  To  change  this, 
they  profess  to  believe,  would  be,  in  the  language  of  Mr.  Cornell,  in  his 
response,  "to  surrender  their  personal  and  political  rights." 

Convinced  that  the  people  of  New  York,  and  of  the  country  gener 
ally,  wish  the  New  York  Custom-House  to  be  administered  solely  with  a 
view  to  the  public  interest,  it  is  my  purpose  to  do  all  in  my  powrer  to 
introduce  into  this  great  office  the  reforms  which  the  country  desires. 

With  my  information  of  the  facts  in  the  case,  and  with  a  deep  sense 
of  the  responsible  obligation  imposed  upon  me  by  the  Constitution,  to 
"take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,"  I  regard  it  as  my  plain 
duty  to  suspend  the  officers  in  question,  and  to  make  the  nominations 
now  before  the  Senate,  in  order  that  this  important  office  may  be  hon 
estly  and  efficiently  administered. 

R.  B.  HAYES. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  January  31,  1879. 

Two  days  later  (February  2)  the  President  wrote  of  this 
controversy  in  his  diary :  — 

The  contest  in  the  Senate  on  the  confirmation  of  my  New  York 


94  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

nominations  for  the  customs  offices  is  close  and  as  yet  undecided.  If 
confirmed  against  the  votes  and  efforts  of  both  of  the  New  York  Senators, 
the  decision  will  be  of  great  value.  It  will  go  far  to  settle  — 

1.  The  right  of  Senators  to  dictate  appointments. 

2.  It  will  decide  in  favor  of  keeping  the  offices  out  of  politics. 

In  that  case  I  will  lay  down  the  law  to  my  New  York  officers  accord 
ing  to  the  doctrines  of  the  strictest  sect  of  civil  service  reformers.  Two 
or  three  officers  holding  confidential  relations  with  the  chief  officers  may 
be  left  to  their  personal  preference,  but  the  great  mass  of  appointments 
must  be  impersonal,  and  on  principles  that  will  stand  the  test.  I  shall 
say  to  General  Merritt:  Disregard  all  influence,  all  solicitation,  all  pres 
sure  —  even  if  it  come  from  me,  or  his  immediate  chief,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury.  In  this  way  the  question  can  be  fairly  tested,  and  the 
value  of  the  civil  service  rules  have  an  impartial  trial  in  this,  the  most 
important  office  in  the  country. 

I  put  the  issue  on  solid  grounds  in  a  short  message  which  I  sent  to  the 
Senate  on  Friday,  31st.  In  the  preliminary  skirmishing  we  have  had 
slightly  the  advantage,  and  we  seem  to  be  gaining.  Judge  Matthews 
leads  on  our  side.  Postponement  has  seemed  to  be  our  policy.  Matthews 
beat  Conkling  28  to  26  last  Monday  on  postponement,  and  35  to  26 
last  Friday  on  the  same  question.  The  decisive  vote  will  be  taken 
to-morrow,  Monday. 

February  3,  after  a  prolonged  debate,  the  "courtesy  of  the 
Senate"  was  invoked  in  vain,  a  majority  of  the  Senators  be 
came  reasonable,  and  the  nominations  were  confirmed.1  In  all 
this  controversy  the  personal  integrity  and  honesty  of  Messrs. 
Arthur  and  Cornell  were  never  questioned.  But  they  were  alike 
the  victims  and  the  exponents  of  an  evil  system  whose  wicked 
ness  and  perversion  they  not  only  would  not  see,  but  even 
actually  defended  as  proper  and  righteous.  There  could  be  no 
hope  of  real  reform  under  the  direction  of  men  who  honestly 
believed  that  the  old  system  was  founded  on  correct  principles, 
and  who  regarded  the  efforts  to  free  it  from  politics  and  to  make 
it  solely  an  efficient  instrument  of  public  service  as  fantastic, 
visionary,  and  mischievous. 

The  President  immediately  wrote  the  following  letter  to 
General  Merritt:  — 

1  "We  are  successful.  The  New  York  nominations,  Merritt  and  Burt,  were 
confirmed  against  Arthur  and  Cornell  after  five  or  six  hours'  debate  by  a  vote 
of  33  to  24.  Thirteen  Republicans  voted  to  confirm.  There  were  two  or  three 
others  who  were  of  the  same  mind,  but  were  controlled  by  promises.  One  or 
two  would  have  voted  with  us  if  their  votes  had  been  needed."  (Diary,  February 
4,  1879.)  ^ 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM       95 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION, 
WASHINGTON,  February  4,  1879. 

DEAR  GENERAL,  —  I  congratulate  you  on  your  confirmation.  It  is  a 
great  gratification  to  your  friends,  very  honorable  to  you,  and  will  prove, 
I  believe,  of  signal  service  to  the  country. 

My  desire  is  that  your  office  shall  be  conducted  on  strictly  business 
principles,  and  according  to  the  rules  which  were  adopted,  on  the  rec 
ommendation  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission,  by  the  Administration 
of  General  Grant.  In  making  appointments  and  removals  of  subordi 
nates,  you  should  be  perfectly  independent  of  mere  influence.  Neither 
my  recommendation  nor  that  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  nor  the 
recommendation  of  any  member  of  Congress,  or  other  influential  person, 
should  be  specially  regarded.  Let  appointments  and  removals  be  made 
on  business  principles,  and  by  fixed  rules.  There  must  be,  I  assume,  a 
few  places  the  duties  of  which  are  confidential,  and  which  would  be  filled 
by  those  whom  you  personally  know  to  be  trustworthy ;  but  restrict  the 
area  of  patronage  to  the  narrowest  possible  limits.  Let  no  man  be  put 
out  merely  because  he  is  a  friend  of  the  late  collector,  and  no  man  be 
put  in  merely  because  he  is  our  friend.  I  am  glad  you  approve  of  the 
message  sent  to  the  Senate.  I  wish  you  to  see  that  all  that  is  expressed 
in  it,  and  all  that  is  implied  in  it,  is  faithfully  carried  out. 

With  the  assurance  of  my  entire  confidence,  I  remain,  sincerely, 

R.  B.  HAYES. 

GENERAL  E.  A.  MERRITT, 

Collector  of  Customs,  New  York. 

Briefer  letters  to  similar  effect  were  sent  to  Messrs.  Burt  and 
Graham,1  and  the  three  officers  worked  in  harmony  to  carry 
out  the  wishes  of  the  President.2  For  the  remainder  of  his 

1  The  letter  to  Mr.  Burt  was  as  follows:  — 

6th  February,  1879. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  beg  you  to  receive  my  sincere  congratulations  on  your 
confirmation.  My  desire  is  that  the  result  may  prove  advantageous  to  the  coun 
try.  I  have  wrritten  General  Merritt  that  I  wish  the  office  conducted  on  business 
principles,  and  under  sound  civil  service  rules.  You  were  on  the  commission 
under  General  Grant.  I  therefore  request  you  to  have  a  conference  with  General 
Merritt  and  General  Graham  and  agree  upon  a  body  of  rules  for  the  government 
of  your  offices,  based  on  the  rules  reported  by  the  commission,  with  such  altera 
tions  as  you  deem  advisable.  —  Sincerely, 

R.  B.  HAYES. 

To  HON.  SILAS  W.  BURT. 

For  the  "  Regulations  Governing  Appointments  in  the  Customs  Service  and 
Subtreasury  in  the  City  of  New  York,"  which  were  formulated  at  this  time 
and  approved  by  President  Hayes  March  6,  1879,  see  Richardson,  Messages 
and  Papers  of  the  Presidents,  vol.  vii,  p.  550,  et  seq. 

2  "It  has  been  a  very  popular  fashion  to  sneer  at  the  'reforms'  of  this  Ad 
ministration.   Let  us  see.   Is  it  nothing  that  the  Executive  absolutely  declines 


96  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

Administration  the  New  York  Custom-House  was  freer  from 
politics,  was  more  nearly  and  strictly  conducted  on  business 
principles,  than  ever  before  or  much  of  the  time  since.1 

Thomas  L.  James,  postmaster  of  New  York,  whose  pregnant 
words  2  Mr.  Hayes  had  quoted  in  his  message  of  January  31, 
had  for  some  time  been  observing  practical  reform  principles 

congressional  dictation  in  appointments,  and  that  members  of  Congress  under 
stand  it?  Is  it  nothing  that  the  monstrous  party  extortion  called  'voluntary 
contributions '  for  elections  has  been  practically  abolished,  so  far  as  the  Adminis 
tration  is  concerned?  Is  it  nothing  that  in  the  two  great  public  offices  in  New 
York  —  the  custom-house  and  the  post-office  —  appointments  and  promotions 
are  uniformly  made  upon  ascertained  merit,  and  not  by  personal  or  political 
favor?  These  things  have  been  done,  and  it  is  no  answer  to  say  that  other  things 
have  not  been  done.  They  are  done,  not,  indeed,  by  a  law  of  Congress,  but  by 
executive  choice,  and  they  are  immense  gains  to  the  cause  of  better  politics, 
because  they  demonstrate  clearly  the  perfect  practicability  of  a  sound  system." 
(George  William  Curtis,  Harpers  Weekly,  May  31,  1879.) 

1  General  Merritt  in  his  final  report  (July  20,  1881)  of  his  service  as  collector 
was  able  to  say:  — 

"It  has  also  been  our  purpose  to  elevate  the  standard  of  the  service  as  much 
as  possible  by  considerate  and  reformatory  discipline.  I  feel  justified  in  stating 
that  there  has  been  a  decided  improvement  in  that  regard.  Fewer  complaints 
have  been  made  against  officers,  and  the  business  community  has  in  various 
ways  expressed  its  appreciation  of  the  improved  morale  of  the  force.  .  .  . 

"The  civil  service  policy  of  President  Hayes,  which  was  embodied  in  the  rules 
promulgated  by  him  to  govern  the  appointments  in  the  custom-house,  has  in  a 
large  measure  served  the  purpose  intended.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that,  applying 
the  simple  test  of  efficiency  and  character  as  compared  with  appointments  here 
tofore  made,  it  may  be  declared  a  complete  success.  While  it  is  possible  for  the 
nominating  officer,  if  unembarrassed  by  political  considerations,  to  select  com 
petent  and  trustworthy  men,  yet  with  the  desire  to  do  so,  he  would  still  often  be 
open  to  the  charge  of  favoritism,  and  it  is  practically  impossible  to  become  suffi 
ciently  acquainted  with  applicants  at  the  outset  to  determine  as  to  the  wisdom 
of  their  appointment. 

"The  present  rules  have  at  least  one  merit,  that  the  tests,  whether  the  best 
that  can  be  devised  or  not,  are  fair  and  absolutely  impartial.  Rules,  however,  to 
have  the  fullest  measure  of  respect,  should  apply  to  all  branches  of  the  civil  serv 
ice  under  similar  conditions.  Permanency  of  tenure  is  an  important  considera 
tion  if  the  employee  is  of  proved  competency  and  trustworthiness." 

The  New  York  Tribune  (July  30,  1881),  commenting  on  this  report,  declared: 
"  No  other  collector  has  ever  made  so  satisfactory  a  showing.  .  .  .  Judge  Robert 
son  will  assume  control  of  a  force  well  disciplined  and  equipped  for  duty,  and 
a  force  enlightened  by  an  experimental  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  the  business 
of  the  Government  can  be  transacted  successfully  upon  the  same  principles 
which  are  recognized  as  the  foundations  of  success  in  the  ordinary  business  of 
human  life." 

2  These  words  were  taken  from  a  letter,  written  by  Mr.  James,  during  the 
preceding  political  campaign,  to  George  W'illiam  Curtis,  which  Mr.  Curtis  sent 
to  the  President. 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM       97 

in  the  conduct  of  his  office.  These  principles  were  now  embodied 
in  a  code  of  rules,  governing  appointments,  promotions,  and  dis 
missals,  which  was  approved  by  the  President  and  ordered  to  be 
enforced.  A  copy  of  this  code  was  sent  to  the  heads  of  other 
large  offices  in  the  civil  service,  to  be  adopted  by  them  with  such 
modification  as  might  seem  advisable  in  the  different  branches 
of  the  service. 

It  had  been  Mr.  Hayes's  purpose,  as  intimated  in  his  first 
annual  message,  to  prepare  a  special  message  on  the  improve 
ment  of  the  civil  service.  Frequent  references  are  made  to  the 
subject  in  his  diary  and  data  were  assembled.  But  for  some 
reason  the  project  was  given  up.  In  his  second  annual  message, 
indeed,  no  reference  was  made  to  the  subject,  for  the  reason, 
possibly,  that  it  was  felt  to  be  quite  useless  at  that  time  to  reiter 
ate  views  that  were  perfectly  well  known;  or  it  may  even  have 
been  thought  that  a  recurrence  to  the  subject  at  that  particular 
juncture  might  serve  further  to  arouse  the  antipathy  of  the 
Senators  to  whom  the  New  York  appointments  were  presently 
to  be  submitted.  Increased  experience  in  dealing  with  the  prob 
lem  in  its  many  ramifications  made  the  difficulty  of  its  perma 
nent  solution  constantly  clearer  to  the  President's  mind.  A  few 
days  after  the  letter  to  General  Merritt  (February  14),  the  diary 
has  the  following :  — 

There  can  be  no  complete  and  permanent  reform  of  the  civil  service 
until  public  opinion  emancipates  Congressmen  from  all  control  and 
influence  over  government  patronage.  Legislation  is  required  to  estab 
lish  the  reform.  No  proper  legislation  is  to  be  expected  as  long  as  mem 
bers  of  Congress  are  engaged  in  procuring  offices  for  their  constituents. 
It  is  not  for  me  to  lay  down  rules  for  the  personal  conduct  of  members  of 
Congress  on  this  subject.  I  shall  certainly  give  due  weight  to  informa 
tion  received  from  Congressmen,  whether  it  is  volunteered  or  given  on 
my  request.  The  end  the  public  are  interested  in  is  the  independence  of 
Congressmen  of  all  responsibility  for  appointments,  and  this  depends 
largely  on  the  people  themselves.  Let  government  appointments  be 
wholly  separated  from  congressional  influence  and  control  except  as 
provided  in  the  Constitution  and  all  needed  reforms  of  the  service  will 
speedily  and  surely  follow.  Impressed  with  the  vital  importance  of  good 
administration  in  all  departments  of  Government,  I  must  do  the  best  I 
can,  unaided  by  public  opinion,  and  opposed  in  and  out  of  Congress  by  a 
large  part  of  the  most  powerful  men  in  my  party.  I  have  written  a  letter 
to  General  Merritt  which  taken  with  my  message  embodies  the  leading 


98  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

principles  on  which  I  desire  the  officers  appointed  by  me  to  administer 
their  offices.  I  will  have  them  printed  together,  and  send  them  to  im 
portant  officers,  as  occasion  seems  to  demand. 

In  his  third  annual  message,  December  1,  1879,  Mr.  Hayes 
devoted  much  space  to  an  earnest  discussion  of  the  evils  of  the 
spoils  system  and  to  a  summary  of  the  results  achieved,  under 
difficulties,  by  the  application  of  reform  principles  to  the  con 
duct  of  the  public  service  in  many  of  the  principal  offices.  And 
he  made  an  eloquent  plea  for  further  legislation  to  support  the 
reform  work  and  to  make  it  permanent.  The  portion  of  his 
message  given  to  this  topic  was  as  follows :  — 

In  a  former  message  I  invited  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  subject 
of  the  reformation  of  the  civil  service  of  the  Government,  and  expressed 
the  intention  of  transmitting  to  Congress,  as  early  as  practicable,  a 
report  upon  this  subject  by  the  chairman  of  the  Civil  Service  Commis 
sion. 

In  view  of  the  facts  that,  during  a  considerable  period,  the  Govern 
ment  of  Great  Britain  has  been  dealing  with  administrative  problems 
and  abuses,  in  various  particulars  analogous  to  those  presented  in  this 
country,  and  that  in  recent  years  the  measures  adopted  were  understood 
to  have  been  effective  and  in  every  respect  highly  satisfactory,  I  thought 
it  desirable  to  have  fuller  information  upon  the  subject,  and  accordingly 
requested  the  chairman  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission  to  make  a 
thorough  investigation  for  this  purpose.  The  result  has  been  an  elabo 
rate  and  comprehensive  report. 

The  report  sets  forth  the  history  of  the  partisan  spoils  system  in  Great 
Britain,  and  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  parliamentary  patronage,  and  of 
official  interference  with  the  freedom  of  elections.  It  shows  that  after 
long  trials  of  various  kinds  of  examinations,  those  which  are  competitive 
and  open  on  equal  terms  to  all,  and  which  are  carried  on  under  the 
superintendence  of  a  single  commission,  have,  with  great  advantage, 
been  established  as  conditions  of  admission  to  almost  every  official 
place  in  the  subordinate  administration  of  that  country  and  of  British 
India.  The  completion  of  the  report,  owing  to  the  extent  of  the  labor 
involved  in  its  preparation,  and  the  omission  of  Congress  to  make  any 
provision  either  for  the  compensation  or  the  expenses  of  the  Commis 
sion,  has  been  postponed  until  the  present  time.  It  is  herewith  trans 
mitted  to  Congress. 

While  the  reform  measures  of  another  Government  are  of  no  authority 
for  us,  they  are  entitled  to  influence,  to  the  extent  to  which  their  intrin 
sic  wisdom  and  their  adaptation  to  our  institutions  and  social  life  may 
commend  them  to  our  consideration. 

The  views  I  have  heretofore  expressed  concerning  the  defects  and 
abuses  in  our  civil  administration  remain  unchanged,  except  in  so  far 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM       99 

as  an  enlarged  experience  has  deepened  my  sense  of  the  duty  both  of 
officers  and  of  the  people  themselves  to  cooperate  for  their  removal. 
The  grave  evils  and  perils  of  a  partisan  spoils  system  of  appointment  to 
office  and  of  office  tenure  are  now  generally  recognized.  In  the  resolu 
tions  of  the  great  parties,  in  the  reports  of  Departments,  in  the  debates 
and  proceedings  of  Congress,  in  the  messages  of  Executives,  the  gravity 
of  these  evils  has  been  pointed  out  and  the  need  of  their  reform  has  been 
admitted. 

To  command  the  necessary  support,  every  measure  of  reform  must  be 
based  on  common  right  and  justice,  and  must  be  compatible  with  the 
healthy  existence  of  great  parties,  which  are  inevitable  and  essential  in  a 
free  state. 

When  the  people  have  approved  a  policy  at  a  national  election,  confi 
dence  on  the  part  of  the  officers  they  have  selected,  and  of  the  advisers 
who,  in  accordance  with  our  political  institutions,  should  be  consulted, 
in  the  policy  which  it  is  their  duty  to  carry  into  effect,  is  indispensable. 
It  is  eminently  proper  that  they  should  explain  it  before  the  people,  as 
well  as  illustrate  its  spirit  in  the  performance  of  their  official  duties. 

Very  different  considerations  apply  to  the  greater  number  of  those 
who  fill  the  subordinate  places  in  the  civil  service.  Their  responsibility 
is  to  their  superiors  in  official  position.  It  is  their  duty  to  obey  the  legal 
instructions  of  those  upon  whom  that  authority  is  devolved,  and  their 
best  public  service  consists  in  the  discharge  of  their  functions  irrespec 
tive  of  partisan  politics.  Their  duties  are  the  same,  whatever  party  is  in 
power  and  whatever  policy  prevails.  As  a  consequence,  it  follows  that 
their  tenure  of  office  should  not  depend  on  the  prevalence  of  any  policy 
or  the  supremacy  of  any  party,  but  should  be  determined  by  their  capac 
ity  to  serve  the  people  most  usefully,  quite  irrespective  of  partisan  inter 
ests.  The  same  considerations  that  should  govern  the  tenure  should  also 
prevail  in  the  appointment,  discipline,  and  removal  of  these  subordi 
nates.  The  authority  of  appointment  and  removal  is  not  a  perquisite 
which  may  be  used  to  aid  a  friend  or  reward  a  partisan,  but  is  a  trust  to 
be  exercised  in  the  public  interest,  under  all  the  sanctions  which  attend 
the  obligation  to  apply  the  public  funds  only  for  public  purposes. 

Every  citizen  has  an  equal  right  to  the  honor  and  profit  of  entering 
the  public  service  of  his  country.  The  only  just  ground  of  discrimination 
is  the  measure  of  character  and  capacity  he  has  to  make  that  service 
most  useful  to  the  people.  Except  in  cases  where,  upon  just  and  recog 
nized  principles,  —  as  upon  the  theory  of  pensions,  —  offices,  and  promo 
tions  are  bestowed  as  rewards  for  past  services,  their  bestowal  upon  any 
theory  which  disregards  personal  merit  is  an  act  of  injustice  to  the  citi 
zen,  as  well  as  a  breach  of  that  trust  subject  to  which  the  appointing 
power  is  held. 

In  the  light  of  these  principles,  it  becomes  of  great  importance  to 
provide  just  and  adequate  means,  especially  for  every  department  and 
large  administrative  office,  where  personal  discrimination  on  the  part  of 
its  head  is  not  practicable,  for  ascertaining  those  qualifications  to  which 


100  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

appointments  and  removals  should  have  reference.  To  fail  to  provide 
such  means  is  not  only  to  deny  the  opportunity  of  ascertaining  the 
facts  upon  which  the  most  righteous  claim  to  office  depends,  but,  of 
necessity,  to  discourage  all  worthy  aspirants  by  handing  over  appoint 
ments  and  removals  to  mere  influence  and  favoritism.  If  it  is  the  right  of 
the  worthiest  claimant  to  gain  the  appointment,  and  the  interest  of  the 
people  to  bestow  it  upon  him,  it  would  seem  clear  that  a  wise  and  just 
method  of  ascertaining  personal  fitness  for  office  must  be  an  important 
and  permanent  function  of  every  just  and  wise  government.  It  has  long 
since  become  impossible,  in  the  great  offices,  for  those  having  the  duty  of 
nomination  and  appointment  to  personally  examine  into  the  individual 
qualifications  of  more  than  a  small  proportion  of  those  seeking  office, 
and,  with  the  enlargement  of  the  civil  service,  that  proportion  must 
continue  to  become  less. 

In  the  earlier  years  of  the  Government,  the  subordinate  offices  were  so 
few  in  number  that  it  was  quite  easy  for  those  making  appointments  and 
promotions  to  personally  ascertain  the  merits  of  candidates.  Party 
managers  and  methods  had  not  then  become  powerful  agencies  of  coer 
cion,  hostile  to  the  free  and  just  exercise  of  the  appointing  power. 

A  large  and  responsible  part  of  the  duty  of  restoring  the  civil  service 
to  the  desired  purity  and  efficiency  rests  upon  the  President,  and  it  is 
my  purpose  to  do  what  is  within  my  power  to  advance  such  prudent 
and  gradual  measures  of  reform  as  will  most  surely  and  rapidly  bring 
about  that  radical  change  of  system  essential  to  make  our  administrative 
methods  satisfactory  to  a  free  and  intelligent  people.  By  a  proper  ex 
ercise  of  authority,  it  is  in  the  power  of  the  Executive  to  do  much  to 
promote  such  a  reform.  But  it  cannot  be  too  clearly  understood  that 
nothing  adequate  can  be  accomplished  without  cooperation  on  the  part 
of  Congress  and  considerate  and  intelligent  support  among  the  people. 
Reforms  which  challenge  the  generally  accepted  theories  of  parties  and 
demand  changes  in  the  methods  of  departments  are  not  the  work  of  a 
day.  Their  permanent  foundations  must  be  laid  in  sound  principles  and 
in  an  experience  which  demonstrates  their  wisdom  and  exposes  the  errors 
of  their  adversaries.  Every  worthy  officer  desires  to  make  his  official 
action  a  gain  and  an  honor  to  his  country,  but  the  people  themselves, 
far  more  than  their  officers  in  public  station,  are  interested  in  a  pure, 
economical,  and  vigorous  administration. 

By  laws  enacted  in  1853  and  1855,  and  now  in  substance  incorporated 
in  the  Revised  Statutes,  the  practice  of  arbitrary  appointments  to  the 
several  subordinate  grades  in  the  great  Departments  was  condemned, 
and  examinations,  as  to  capacity,  to  be  conducted  by  departmental 
boards  of  examiners,  were  provided  for  and  made  conditions  of  admis 
sion  to  the  public  service.  These  statutes  are  a  decision  by  Congress 
that  examinations  of  some  sort,  as  to  attainments  and  capacity,  are 
essential  to  the  well-being  of  the  public  service.  The  important  ques 
tions  since  the  enactment  of  these  laws  have  been  as  to  the  character  of 
these  examinations,  and  whether  official  favor  and  partisan  influence,  or 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  ttEFbRftf  Un 
common  right  and  merit,  were  to  control  the  access  to  the  examinations. 
In  practice,  these  examinations  have  not  always  been  open  to  worthy 
persons  generally  who  might  wish  to  be  examined.  Official  favoritism 
and  partisan  influence,  as  a  rule,  appear  to  have  designated  those  who 
alone  were  permitted  to  go  before  the  examining  boards,  subjecting  even 
the  examiners  to  a  pressure  from  the  friends  of  the  candidates  very  diffi 
cult  to  resist.  As  a  consequence,  the  standard  of  admission  fell  below 
that  which  the  public  interest  demanded.  It  was  also  almost  inevitable 
that  a  system  which  provided  for  various  separate  boards  of  examiners, 
with  no  common  supervision  or  uniform  method  of  procedure,  should 
result  in  confusion,  inconsistency,  and  inadequate  tests  of  capacity 
highly  detrimental  to  the  public  interests.  A  further  and  more  radical 
change  was  obviously  required. 

In  the  annual  message  of  December,  1870,  my  predecessor  declared 
that  —  "There  is  no  duty  which  so  much  embarrasses  the  Executive 
and  heads  of  Departments  as  that  of  appointments  ;  nor  is  there  any 
such  arduous  and  thankless  labor  imposed  on  Senators  and  Represent 
atives  as  that  of  finding  places  for  constituents.  The  present  system 
does  not  secure  the  best  men,  and  often  not  even  fit  men  for  the  public 
places.  The  elevation  and  purification  of  the  civil  service  of  the  Gov 
ernment  will  be  hailed  with  approval  by  the  whole  people  of  the  United 
States."  Congress  accordingly  passed  the  act,  approved  March  3, 1871, 
"to  regulate  the  civil  service  of  the  United  States  and  promote  the 
efficiency  thereof,"  giving  the  necessary  authority  to  the  Executive  to 
inaugurate  a  civil  service  reform. 

Acting  under  this  statute,  which  was  interpreted  as  intended  to  secure 
a  system  of  just  and  effectual  examinations  under  uniform  supervision, 
a  number  of  eminently  competent  persons  were  selected  for  the  purpose, 
who  entered  with  zeal  upon  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  prepared,  with 
an  intelligent  appreciation  of  the  requirements  of  the  service,  the  regula 
tions  contemplated,  and  took  charge  of  the  examinations,  and  who,  in 
their  capacity  as  a  board,  have  been  known  as  the  "Civil  Service  Com 
mission."  Congress  for  two  years  appropriated  the  money  needed  for 
the  compensation  and  for  the  expense  of  carrying  on  the  work  of  the 
commission. 

It  appears  from  the  report  of  the  commission,  submitted  to  the  Presi 
dent  in  April,  1874,  that  examinations  had  been  held  in  various  sections 
of  the  country,  and  that  an  appropriation  of  about  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  would  be  required  to  meet  the  annual  expenses,  including  salaries, 
involved  in  discharging  the  duties  of  the  commission.  The  report  was 
transmitted  to  Congress  by  special  message  of  April  18,  1874,  with  the 
following  favorable  comment  upon  the  labors  of  the  commission:  "If 
sustained  by  Congress,  I  have  no  doubt  the  rules  can,  after  the  experi 
ence  gained,  be  so  improved  and  enforced  as  to  still  more  materially 
benefit  the  public  service  and  relieve  the  Executive,  members  of  Con 
gress,  and  the  heads  of  Departments,  from  influences  prejudicial  to 
good  administration.  The  rules,  as  they  have  hitherto  been  enforced, 


102  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

have  resulted  beneficially,  as  is  shown  by  the  opinions  of  the  members 
of  the  Cabinet  and  their  subordinates  in  the  Departments,  and  in  that 
opinion  I  concur."  And  in  the  annual  message  of  December  of  the  same 
year  similar  views  are  expressed,  and  an  appropriation  for  continuing 
the  work  of  the  commission  again  advised. 

The  appropriation  was  not  made,  and,  as  a  consequence,  the  active 
work  of  the  commission  was  suspended,  leaving  the  commission  itself 
still  in  existence.  Without  the  means,  therefore,  of  causing  qualifica 
tions  to  be  tested  in  any  systematic  manner,  or  of  securing  for  the 
public  service  the  advantages  of  competition  upon  any  extensive  plan,  I 
recommended  in  my  annual  message  of  December,  1877,  the  making 
of  an  appropriation  for  the  resumption  of  the  work  of  the  commission. 

In  the  meantime,  however,  competitive  examinations  under  many 
embarrassments  have  been  conducted  within  limited  spheres  in  the 
executive  Departments  in  Washington,  and  in  a  number  of  the  custom 
houses  and  post-offices  of  the  principal  cities  of  the  country,  with  a  view 
to  further  test  their  effects,  and,  in  every  instance,  they  have  been  found 
to  be  as  salutary  as  they  are  stated  to  have  been  under  the  Administra 
tion  of  my  predecessor.  I  think  the  economy,  purity,  and  efficiency  of 
the  public  service  would  be  greatly  promoted  by  their  systematic  intro 
duction,  wherever  practicable,  throughout  the  entire  civil  service  of  the 
Government,  together  with  ample  provision  for  their  general  supervi 
sion,  in  order  to  secure  consistency  and  uniform  justice. 

Reports  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  from  the  Postmaster- 
General,  from  the  Postmaster  in  the  city  of  New  York,  where  such  ex 
aminations  have  been  some  time  on  trial,  and  also  from  the  Collector 
of  the  Port,  the  Naval  Officer,  and  the  Surveyor  in  that  city,  and  from 
the  postmasters  and  collectors  in  several  of  the  other  large  cities,  show 
that  the  competitive  system,  where  applied,  has,  in  various  wrays,  con 
tributed  to  improve  the  public  service. 

The  reports  show  that  the  results  have  been  salutary  in  a  marked 
degree,  and  that  the  general  application  of  similar  rules  cannot  fail  to 
be  of  decided  benefit  to  the  service. 

The  reports  of  the  government  officers  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
especially,  bear  decided  testimony  to  the  utility  of  open  competitive  ex 
aminations  in  their  respective  offices,  showing  that  —  "These  examina 
tions,  and  the  excellent  qualifications  of  those  admitted  to  the  service 
through  them,  have  had  a  marked  incidental  effect  upon  the  persons 
previously  in  the  service,  and  particularly  upon  those  aspiring  to  promo 
tion.  There  has  been  on  the  part  of  these  latter  an  increased  interest 
in  the  work,  and  a  desire  to  extend  acquaintance  with  it  beyond  the  par 
ticular  desk  occupied,  and  thus  the  morale  of  the  entire  force  has  been 
raised.  .  .  .  The  examinations  have  been  attended  by  many  citizens 
who  have  had  an  opportunity  to  thoroughly  investigate  the  scope  and 
character  of  the  tests  and  the  method  of  determining  the  results,  and 
those  visitors  have,  without  exception,  approved  the  methods  employed, 
and  several  of  them  have  publicly  attested  their  favorable  opinion." 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM      103 

Upon  such  considerations,  I  deem  it  my  duty  to  renew  the  recommen 
dation  contained  in  my  annual  message  of  December,  1877,  requesting 
Congress  to  make  the  necessary  appropriation  for  the  resumption  of  the 
work  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission.  Economy  will  be  promoted  by 
authorizing  a  moderate  compensation  to  persons  in  the  public  service 
who  may  perform  extra  labor  upon  or  under  the  commission,  as  the 
Executive  may  direct. 

I  am  convinced  that  if  a  just  and  adequate  test  of  merit  is  enforced  for 
admission  to  the  public  service  and  in  making  promotions,  such  abuses 
as  removals  without  good  cause,  and  partisan  and  official  interference 
with  the  proper  exercise  of  the  appointing  power,  will  in  large  measure 
disappear. 

There  are  other  administrative  abuses  to  which  the  attention  of  Con 
gress  should  be  asked  in  this  connection.  Mere  partisan  appointments, 
and  the  constant  peril  of  removal  without  cause,  very  naturally  lead  to 
an  absorbing  and  mischievous  political  activity  on  the  part  of  those  thus 
appointed,  which  not  only  interferes  with  the  due  discharge  of  official 
duty,  but  is  incompatible  with  the  freedom  of  elections.  Not  without 
warrant,  in  the  views  of  several  of  my  predecessors  in  the  Presidential 
office,  and  directly  within  the  law  of  1871,  already  cited,  I  endeavored 
by  regulation,  made  on  the  22d  day  of  June,  1877,  to  put  some  reason 
able  limits  to  such  abuses.  It  may  not  be  easy,  and  it  may  never  perhaps 
be  necessary,  to  define  with  precision  the  proper  limit  of  political  action 
on  the  part  of  federal  officers.  But  while  their  right  to  hold  and  freely 
express  their  opinions  cannot  be  questioned,  it  is  very  plain  that  they 
should  neither  be  allowed  to  devote  to  other  subjects  the  time  needed 
for  the  proper  discharge  of  their  official  duties,  nor  to  use  the  authority 
of  their  office  to  enforce  their  own  opinions,  or  to  coerce  the  political 
action  of  those  who  hold  different  opinions. 

Reasons  of  justice  and  public  policy,  quite  analogous  to  those  which 
forbid  the  use  of  official  power  for  the  oppression  of  the  private  citizen, 
impose  upon  the  Government  the  duty  of  protecting  its  officers  and 
agents  from  arbitrary  exactions.  In  whatever  aspect  considered,  the 
practice  of  making  levies  for  party  purposes  upon  the  salaries  of  officers 
is  highly  demoralizing  to  the  public  service  and  discreditable  to  the 
country.  Though  an  officer  should  be  as  free  as  any  other  citizen  to  give 
his  own  money  in  aid  of  his  opinions  or  his  party,  he  should  also  be  as 
free  as  any  other  citizen  to  refuse  to  make  such  gifts.  If  salaries  are  but 
a  fair  compensation  for  the  time  and  labor  of  the  officer,  it  is  gross  injus 
tice  to  levy  a  tax  upon  them.  If  they  are  made  excessive  in  order  that 
they  may  bear  the  tax,  the  excess  is  an  indirect  robbery  of  the  public 
funds. 

I  recommend,  therefore,  such  a  revision  and  extension  of  present 
statutes  as  shall  secure  to  those  in  every  grade  of  official  life  or  public 
employment  the  protection  with  wrhich  a  great  and  enlightened  nation 
should  guard  those  who  are  faithful  in  its  service. 


104  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  recall  that  Congress  was  still  out  of 
sympathy  with  the  movement  for  reform  and  refused  to  take 
any  action.  For  the  time  being  popular  interest  in  the  cause 
appeared  to  be  so  little  excited  that  in  1880  the  platform 
committee  of  the  Republican  National  Convention  ignored  the 
subject  and  its  failure  was  remedied  only  after  debate  by  the 
body  of  the  convention;  while  the  Democratic  National  Conven 
tion  made  no  pronouncement  whatever  for  reform.  Mr.  Hayes, 
however,  remained  true  to  his  principles,  and  in  his  final  mes 
sage,  December  6,  1880,  he  made  one  more  resolute  attempt  to 
stir  Congress  to  action.  Speaking  out  of  the  fulness  of  experi 
ence,  he  said:  — 

In  my  former  annual  messages  I  have  asked  the  attention  of  Con 
gress  to  the  urgent  necessity  of  a  reformation  of  the  civil  service  system 
of  the  Government.  My  views  concerning  the  dangers  of  patronage, 
or  appointments  for  personal  or  partisan  considerations,  have  been 
strengthened  by  my  observation  and  experience  in  the  executive  office, 
and  I  believe  these  dangers  threaten  the  stability  of  the  Government. 
Abuses  so  serious  in  their  nature  cannot  be  permanently  tolerated.  They 
tend  to  become  more  alarming  with  the  enlargement  of  administrative 
service,  as  the  growth  of  the  country  in  population  increases  the  number 
of  officers  and  placemen  employed. 

The  reasons  are  imperative  for  the  adoption  of  fixed  rules  for  the 
regulation  of  appointments,  promotions,  and  removals,  establishing  a 
uniform  method,  having  exclusively  in  view,  in  every  instance,  the  at 
tainment  of  the  best  qualifications  for  the  position  in  question.  Such  a 
method  alone  is  consistent  with  the  equal  rights  of  all  citizens,  and  the 
most  economical  and  efficient  administration  of  the  public  business. 

Competitive  examinations,  in  aid  of  impartial  appointments  and 
promotions,  have  been  conducted  for  some  years  past  in  several  of  the 
executive  Departments,  and  by  my  direction  this  system  has  been 
adopted  in  the  custom-houses  and  post-offices  of  the  larger  cities  of  the 
country.  In  the  city  of  New  York  over  two  thousand  positions  in  the 
civil  service  have  been  subject,  in  their  appointments  and  tenure  of 
place,  to  the  operation  of  published  rules  for  this  purpose,  during  the 
past  two  years.  The  results  of  these  practical  trials  have  been  very  sat 
isfactory,  and  have  confirmed  my  opinion  in  favor  of  this  system  of 
selection.  All  are  subjected  to  the  same  tests,  and  the  result  is  free  from 
prejudice  by  personal  favor  or  partisan  influence.  It  secures  for  the  posi 
tion  applied  for  the  best  qualifications  attainable  among  the  competing 
applicants.  It  is  an  effectual  protection  from  the  pressure  of  importu 
nity  which,  under  any  other  course  pursued,  largely  exacts  the  time  and 
attention  of  appointing  officers,  to  their  great  detriment  in  the  discharge 
of  other  official  duties,  preventing  the  abuse  of  the  service  for  the  mere 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM      105 

furtherance  of  private  or  party  purposes,  and  leaving  the  employee  of 
the  Government,  freed  from  the  obligations  imposed  by  patronage,  to 
depend  solely  upon  merit  for  retention  and  advancement,  and  with  this 
constant  incentive  to  exertion  and  improvement. 

These  invaluable  results  have  been  attained  in  a  high  degree  in  the 
offices  where  the  rules  for  appointment  by  competitive  examination 
have  been  applied. 

A  method  which  has  so  approved  itself  by  experimental  tests,  at 
points  where  such  tests  may  be  fairly  considered  conclusive,  should  be 
extended  to  all  subordinate  positions  under  the  Government.  I  believe 
that  a  strong  and  growing  public  sentiment  demands  immediate  meas 
ures  for  securing  and  enforcing  the  highest  possible  efficiency  in  the  civil 
service  and  its  protection  from  recognized  abuses,  and  that  the  experi 
ence  referred  to  has  demonstrated  the  feasibility  of  such  measures. 

The  examinations  in  the  custom-houses  and  post-offices  have  been 
held  under  many  embarrassments  and  without  provision  for  compensa 
tion  for  the  extra  labor  performed  by  the  officers  who  have  conducted 
them,  and  whose  commendable  interest  in  the  improvement  of  the  pub 
lic  service  has  induced  this  devotion  of  time  and  labor  without  pecuniary 
reward.  A  continuance  of  these  labors  gratuitously  ought  not  to  be 
expected,  and  without  an  appropriation  by  Congress  for  compensation, 
it  is  not  practicable  to  extend  the  system  of  examinations  generally 
throughout  the  civil  service.  It  is  also  highly  important  that  all  such 
examinations  should  be  conducted  upon  a  uniform  system  and  under 
general  supervision.  Section  1753  of  the  Revised  Statutes  authorizes 
the  President  to  prescribe  the  regulations  for  admission  to  the  civil  serv 
ice  of  the  United  States,  and  for  this  purpose  to  employ  suitable  per 
sons  to  conduct  the  requisite  inquiries  with  reference  to  "the  fitness  of 
each  candidate,  in  respect  to  age,  health,  character,  knowledge,  and 
ability,  for  the  branch  of  service  into  which  he  seeks  to  enter";  but 
the  law  is  practically  inoperative  for  want  of  the  requisite  appropria 
tion. 

I  therefore  recommend  an  appropriation  of  twenty-five  thousand  dol 
lars  per  annum  to  meet  the  expenses  of  a  commission,  to  be  appointed 
by  the  President  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  this  section,  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  to  devise  a  just,  uniform,  and  efficient  system  of  com 
petitive  examinations,  and  to  supervise  the  application  of  the  same 
throughout  the  entire  civil  service  of  the  Government.  I  am  persuaded 
that  the  facilities  which  such  a  commission  will  afford  for  testing  the 
fitness  of  those  who  apply  for  office  will  not  only  be  as  welcome  a  relief 
to  members  of  Congress  as  it  will  be  to  the  President  and  heads  of  De 
partments,  but  that  it  will  also  greatly  tend  to  remove  the  causes  of 
embarrassment  which  now  inevitably  and  constantly  attend  the  conflict 
ing  claims  of  patronage  between  the  legislative  and  executive  depart 
ments.  The  most  effectual  check  upon  the  pernicious  competition  of 
influence  and  official  favoritism, 'in  the  bestowal  of  office,  will  be  the 
substitution  of  an  open  competition  of  merit  betwreen  the  applicants,  in 


106  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

which  every  one  can  make  his  own  record  with  the  assurance  that  his 
success  will  depend  upon  this  alone. 

I  also  recommend  such  legislation  as,  while  leaving  every  officer  as 
free  as  any  other  citizen  to  express  his  political  opinions  and  to  use  his 
means  for  their  advancement,  shall  also  enable  him  to  feel  as  safe  as 
any  private  citizen  in  refusing  all  demands  upon  his  salary  for  political 
purposes.  A  law  which  should  thus  guarantee  true  liberty  and  justice 
to  all  who  are  engaged  in  the  public  service,  and  likewise  contain  strin 
gent  provisions  against  the  use  of  official  authority  to  coerce  the  political 
action  of  private  citizens  or  of  official  subordinates,  is  greatly  to  be 
desired. 

The  most  serious  obstacle,  however,  to  an  improvement  of  the  civil 
service,  and  especially  to  a  reform  in  the  method  of  appointment  and 
removal,  has  been  found  to  be  the  practice,  under  what  is  known  as  the 
spoils  system,  by  which  the  appointing  power  has  been  so  largely  en 
croached  upon  by  members  of  Congress.  The  first  step  in  the  reform 
of  the  civil  service  must  be  a  complete  divorce  between  Congress  and 
the  Executive  in  the  matter  of  appointments.  The  corrupting  doctrine 
that  "to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils"  is  inseparable  from  congressional 
patronage  as  the  established  rule  and  practice  of  parties  in  power.  It 
comes  to  be  understood  by  applicants  for  office,  and  by  the  people  gen 
erally,  that  Representatives  and  Senators  are  entitled  to  disburse  the 
patronage  of  their  respective  districts  and  States.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
recite  at  length  the  evils  resulting  from  this  invasion  of  the  executive 
functions.  The  true  principles  of  government  on  the  subject  of  appoint 
ments  to  office,  as  stated  in  the  national  conventions  of  the  leading  par 
ties  of  the  country,  have  again  and  again  been  approved  by  the  Ameri 
can  people,  and  have  not  been  called  in  question  in  any  quarter.  These 
authentic  expressions  of  public  opinion  upon  this  all-important  subject 
are  the  statement  of  principles  that  belong  to  the  constitutional  struc 
ture  of  the  Government. 

"  Under  the  Constitution,  the  President  and  heads  of  Departments  are 
to  make  nominations  for  office.  The  Senate  is  to  advise  and  consent  to 
appointments,  and  the  House  of  Representatives  is  to  accuse  and  prose 
cute  faithless  officers.  The  best  interests  of  the  public  service  demand 
that  these  distinctions  be  respected;  that  Senators  and  Representatives, 
who  may  be  judges  and  accusers,  should  not  dictate  appointments  to 
office."  To  this  end  the  cooperation  of  the  legislative  department  of  the 
Government  is  required  alike  by  the  necessities  of  the  case  and  by  public 
opinion.  Members  of  Congress  will  not  be  relieved  from  the  demands 
made  upon  them  with  reference  to  appointments  to  office  until,  by  legis 
lative  enactment,  the  pernicious  practice  is  condemned  and  forbidden. 

It  is,  therefore,  recommended  that  an  act  be  passed  defining  the  rela 
tions  of  members  of  Congress  with  respect  to  appointments  to  office  by 
the  President;  and  I  also  recommend  that  the  provisions  of  section  1767, 
and  of  the  sections  following,  of  the  Revised  Statutes,  comprising  the 
Tenure-of-Office  Act  of  March  2,  1867,  be  repealed. 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM      107 

Believing  that  to  reform  the  system  and  methods  of  the  civil  service 
in  our  country  is  one  of  the  highest  and  most  imperative  duties  of  states 
manship,  and  that  it  can  be  permanently  done  only  by  the  cooperation 
of  the  legislative  and  executive  departments  of  the  Government,  I  again 
commend  the  whole  subject  to  your  considerate  attention. 

There  could  be  no  hope  of  legislation  on  so  important  a  topic 
in  the  short  term  of  Congress,  even  had  there  been  any  disposi 
tion  on  the  part  of  the  legislators  to  consider  the  matter.  And 
no  such  disposition  existed.  So  the  Administration  came  to  a 
close  without  the  slightest  action  having  been  taken  by  the 
legislative  branch  of  the  Government  to  forward  and  make 
permanent  the  efforts  to  introduce  rational  methods  in  the  civil 
service  of  the  country  which  the  Executive  steadily  pursued. 
During  all  of  Mr.  Hayes's  term  the  Democrats  were  in  control 
of  the  House  of  Representatives;  during  the  last  two  years  also 
of  the  Senate.  The  Democrats,  by  their  platform  of  1876,  were 
as  much  pledged  to  a  reform  of  the  civil  service  as  were  the 
Republicans.  One  might  have  supposed,  therefore,  that  condi 
tions  were  favorable  for  the  adoption  of  a  reform  to  which  both 
parties  were  formally  committed.  But  the  practical  politicians 
in  both  parties  were  wedded  to  the  spoils  system,  and  would 
take  no  step  toward  its  elimination  except  under  the  whip  and 
spur  of  constraining  public  opinion.  This  was  felt  two  years 
later  1  when  (January,  1883)  the  Pendleton  Bill  —  a  genuine 
civil  service  reform  measure  —  was  adopted.2  But  even  now. 
after  all  these  years,  much  as  has  been  done  to  establish  the 
merit  system,  the  ideal  condition  of  the  civil  service  toward 
which  Mr.  Hayes  aspired,  has  by  no  means  been  achieved. 

1  President  Arthur,  anything  but  a  civil  service  reformer,  in  his  message  of 
December  4,  1882,  recognized  the  pressure  of  public  opinion  for  reform,  saying: 
"There  has  meanwhile  [within  the  preceding  twelve  months]  been  an  increase 
in  the  public  interest  in  that  subject;  and  the  people  of  the  country,  apparently 
without  distinction  of  party,  have  in  various  ways  and  upon  frequent  occasions 
given  expression  to  their  earnest  wish  for  prompt  and  definite  action.    In  my 
judgment  such  action  should  no  longer  be  postponed." 

2  Dorman  B.  Eaton,  the  eminent  civil  service  reformer,  wrote  in  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Hayes,  January  27,  1883:  "I  hold  it  but  due  to  you  to  say  that,  but  for  your 
courage  and  constancy  in  sustaining  the  merit  system  in  the  custom-house  and 
post-office  in  New  York,  the  reform  could  not  have  reached  its  present  stage  at 
this  time.   The  examples  of  these  offices,  as  spread  before  the  country  in  your 
messages,  have  been  schools  of  political  education  and  an  answer  to  misrepre 
sentations  and  prejudices." 


108  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

Senators  and  Congressmen  still  control  patronage  in  the  in 
terest  of  their  machines;  men  are  often  appointed  to  place,  not 
simply  on  the  ground  of  fitness,  but  rather  as  a  reward  for  politi 
cal  services;  officeholders  are  still  busy  in  manipulating  primaries 
and  controlling  conventions  —  local,  state,  and  even  national ; 
and  by  many  and  various  devices  "voluntary"  contributions 
to  the  party  exchequers  are  extorted  from  officers  and  clerks. 
The  wonder  cannot  be  that  Mr.  Hayes  did  not  accomplish  more, 
but  that  he  was  able  in  the  face  of  such  adverse  circumstances 
—  lack  of  sympathy  and  opposition  in  his  own  party  —  to 
accomplish  so  much. 

Of  course,  it  would  be  too  much  to  say  that  he  was  uniformly 
and  unvaryingly  consistent  in  his  adherence  to  reform  principles; 
that  politics  played  no  part  in  his  appointments;  that  he  resisted 
always  the  importunities  of  party  leaders  for  the  appointment 
of  their  henchmen;  that  he  made  no  mistakes  in  his  selection 
of  men  for  important  posts.  He  himself  frankly  acknowledged 
that  he  had  made  mistakes.  He  did  not  feel,  however,  that  the 
criticism  of  his  action  in  appointing,  or  allowing  the  appoint 
ment,  to  office  of  men  interested  in  the  disputed  election  con 
troversy,  either  as  visiting  statesmen  or  as  participants  in  the 
Republican  party  management  in  the  disputed  States,  which 
was  paraded  in  hostile  journals,  had  substantial  basis.  The 
visiting  statesmen  who  received  appointments,  like  Sherman, 
Noyes,  Harlan,  Matthews,  Stoughton,  and  Lew  Wallace,  were 
among  the  most  eminent  and  trusted  leaders  of  the  party.  That 
their  part  in  the  election  dispute  had  anything  to  do  with  their 
selection  for  office  is  in  the  highest  degree  improbable.  The  men 
active  in  the  Republican  cause  in  the  disputed  States  who 
received  appointments  were  the  leaders  of  the  party  in  those 
States.  Mr.  Hayes  never  had  any  other  notion  than  that  these 
men  had  acted  conscientiously;  had  done  their  duty  under  the 
law  in  the  canvass  of  the  votes.  They  certainly  were  not  to  be 
ostracized  on  that  account  and  because  they  were  denounced 
and  defamed  by  Democratic  partisans  for  their  conduct.  It  is 
further  to  be  said  that  the  men  appointed  proved  to  be  faithful 
and  efficient  officers.1 

1  The  Nation  of  March  3,  1881,  in  reviewing  Mr.  Hayes's  Administration, 
criticized  Mr.  Hayes  severely  because  he  had  "provided  the  Louisiana  politicians 


JOHN  M.   HAKLAN 
WILLIAM  B.   WOODS  STANLfcY  MATTHEWS 

PRESIDENT  HAYES'S  SUPREME  COURT  APPOINTMENTS 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM      109 

Moreover,  Mr.  Hayes  made  no  pretensions  of  being  other 
than  a  party  man.  That  is  to  say,  he  believed  intensely  in  the 
principles  of  the  Republican  party;  believed  that  under  their 
application  the  country  would  have  its  best  development,  its 
greatest  prosperity.  He  wished  to  strengthen  the  party,  to  in 
crease  its  prospects  of  future  success.  The  great  needs  of  the 
country,  as  he  conceived  them,  at  the  beginning  of  his  Adminis 
tration  were :  To  restore  constitutional  and  regular  governments 
to  the  Southern  States,  and  as  far  as  practicable  to  put  them 
in  harmonious  and  proper  relations  to  the  whole  country  and  to 
all  classes  of  people;  to  bring  back  prosperity  by  a  return  to  a 
sound  currency ;  to  improve  the  methods  and  system  of  the  civil 
service.  He  desired  to  meet  these  needs  in  such  a  way  as  to  make 
the  Republican  party  stronger  in  the  popular  estimation  and  to 
restore  it  to  full  power  in  the  Government.  "The  last  was  essen 
tial"  in  his  view,  as  he  wrote  in  briefly  reviewing  his  Administra 
tion  two  months  after  he  laid  down  the  reins  of  government. 
"If  at  the  end  of  my  term,"  he  proceeds,  "the  party  which  was 
on  the  wrong  side  of  the  Southern  question,  the  financial  ques 
tion,  and  the  civil  service  question  should  obtain  power,  all  that 
might  be  gained  by  me  on  those  questions  would  be  lost.  They 
already  had  Congress.  With  the  solid  South,  they  already  had 
in  the  Electoral  College  eighteen  more  votes  than  were  required 
to  elect  a  President.  In  measuring  my  success  on  any  or  all  of 
the  first  three  points,  it  must  be  considered  that  success  on  the 

who  had  counted  him  in  with  substantial  rewards  for  their  services";  and  be 
cause  his  Cabinet  had  not  been  thoroughgoing  civil  service  reformers.  Com 
menting  on  the  criticism  at  the  time,  Mr.  Hayes  wrote:  "  (1)  I  fully  believed  at 
the  time,  and  subsequent  information  has  confirmed  me  in  the  belief,  that  Louis 
iana  and  Florida  were  both  legally  and  rightfully  counted  for  Hayes  and  Wheeler, 
and  that  the  members  of  the  Returning  Boards  did  their  duty  in  the  premises. 
If  so,  they  surely  were  not  disqualified  by  their  action  from  holding  office.  The 
number  of  persons  liable  to  this  objection  is  grossly  exaggerated.  Wells  and 
Anderson,  of  Louisiana,  and  others  were  in  office  —  no  complaints  of  miscon 
duct;  they  were  simply  not  dismissed.  (2)  As  to  the  Cabinet  on  civil  service 
reform.  Other  questions,  notably  the  Southern  and  financial  questions,  had  be 
come  paramount  when  I  assumed  office.  To  deal  with  those  questions,  the 
Cabinet  was  precisely  what  it  should  have  been.  I  appeal  to  results.  Even  if 
civil  service  had  been  the  pressing  and  vital  question,  the  opposition  of  more 
than  two  thirds  of  Congress  would  have  prevented  its  success.  The  corner-stone 
for  the  reform  was  laid  in  the  great  offices  in  New  York  in  spite  of  a  hostile  Con 
gress  and  hostile  party  leaders." 


110  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

last  was  substantial  success  on  all  of  the  others,  and  failure  on 
the  last  was  inevitable  failure  on  all  the  others."  l 

Too  great  emphasis  cannot  be  laid  on  the  fact  that,  in  all  Mr. 
Hayes's  efforts  in  behalf  of  civil  service  reform,  he  not  only 
had  no  support  from  Congress,  but  had  its  positive  and  per 
sistent  opposition.  He  was  left  to  fight  the  battle  alone,  without 
assistance  or  encouragement  from  the  legislative  branch  of  the 
Government,  with  constant  misrepresentation  of  his  aims  and 
motives,  with  much  unkind  criticism  from  the  more  impatient 
friends  of  the  reform  who  refused  to  see  the  difficulties  in  his  way, 
and  with  endless  carping  and  sneers  and  abuse  from  the  spoils 
men  and  their  satellites.  In  spite  of  all  this,  and  after  all  quali 
fications  for  errors  of  judgment  or  failures  to  live  up  to  his  ideals 
are  fairly  appraised,  it  can  be  asserted,  with  utmost  positiveness, 
that  taken  as  a  whole  the  civil  service  under  Mr.  Hayes  was 
made  far  more  efficient  and  conscientious  in  doing  the  work 
of  the  Government,  was  freer  from  favoritism,  and  was  far  less 

1  Diary  May  12,  1881.  —  Near  the  end  of  his  life  (May  15,  1891)  Mr.  Hayes, 
recurring  to  this  subject,  wrote:  — 

"I  am  reminded  that  when  I  had  a  chance  to  strike  strong  and  continuously 
in  favor  of  civil  service  reform,  I  did  not  do  all  that  the  special  friends  of  the  re 
form  hoped  I  would  do.  ...  In  reply :  No  doubt  there  were  shortcomings.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  '  only  one  battle  can  be  fought  at  a  time. '  Before  I 
reached  Washington  the  situation  had  vastly  changed  from  what  it  was  when  the 
nominations  were  made  and  when  the  letter  of  acceptance  was  written.  In  July, 
1876,  the  reform  was  the  living  issue.  In  March,  1877,  after  the  close,  bitter, 
disputed  election,  —  after  the  Southern  question  was  pushed  to  the  front,  — 
the  one  great  need  of  the  country  was  peace,  harmony,  reconciliation.  My 
thoughts  and  efforts  were  all  required,  and  were  all  bent,  to  accomplish  that, 
end.  Other  questions  were  not  neglected,  but  were  to  some  extent  postponed. 
Very  soon  the  hard  times,  the  dreadful  riots  of  1877,  the  financial  condition  be 
came  the  burning  question.  All  were  anxious  on  that  head.  That  was  the  one 
battle  to  be  gained,  or  ruin  would  follow.  Few  men  knew  its  peril. 

"It  is  simply  true  that  a  two-thirds  vote  in  both  houses  of  Congress  were 
ready  and  anxious  to  repeal  the  Resumption  Act  and  to  launch  the  country  on 
the  dangerous  sea  of  unlimited  and  irredeemable  paper  currency.  This  could 
not  be  prevented  merely  by  a  veto.  The  veto  would  have  been  pushed  aside  by 
Congress.  The  only  salvation  was  in  Congress  and  in  the  committees  on  finance. 
Action  must  be  prevented.  It  was  prevented,  and  by  the  influence  of  the  Adminis 
tration  with  unfriendly  Senators  and  Representatives.  The  history  of  the  how 
has  not  been  written.  Very  few  know  it.  There  was  nothing  questionable  done. 
The  truth  brought  home  to  a  few  minds  did  it. 

"But  I  could  not  fight  both  battles  at  the  same  time  with  equal  vigor  and  suc 
cess.  Look  at  the  vote  on  overruling  the  veto  of  the  silver  bill,  and  the  gravity 
of  the  situation  on  resumption  and  inflation  can  be  discovered." 


EFFORTS  FOR  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM      111 

involved  in  politics  than  it  had  been  since  the  early  years  of  our 
national  life.1  The  civil  service  never  again  sank  or  could  sink 
to  so  low  a  level,  in  tone,  in  efficiency,  in  public  repute,  in  perni 
cious  partisan  activity  as  characterized  it  in  the  closing  years 
of  General  Grant's  Administration.  Only  by  comparing  condi 
tions  as  Mr.  Hayes  left  them  with  the  conditions  he  found,  alike 
in  the  government  offices  and  in  the  sentiments  and  expecta 
tions  of  the  public  mind,  can  one  fairly  estimate  how  much  had 
really  been  accomplished  both  in  actual  achievement  and  in 
preparing  the  way  for  the  measure  of  secure  and  permanent 
reform  that  has  slowly  been  attained. 

1  No  man  of  the  period  followed  Mr.  Hayes's  efforts  in  behalf  of  reform  more 
closely  or  with  greater  sympathy  than  George  William  Curtis,  one  of  the  earliest, 
sincerest,  and  most  intelligent  advocates  of  reform;  and  no  man  was  juster  in 
appreciating  the  difficulties  that  had  to  be  met,  or  was  prompter  in  criticizing 
Mr.  Hayes's  lapses  in  applying  the  principles.  His  final  judgment  of  Mr.  Hayes's 
achievement  is  therefore  of  special  significance.  In  Harper's  Weekly,  February 
26,  1881,  he  says:  — 

"  We  think  that  Mr.  Hayes  has  done  more  for  a  reform  of  the  civil  service 
upon  sound  principles  than  any  President  in  our  history.  We  also  think  as  we 
have  often  said,  that  he  has  done  much  that  is  flagrantly  inconsistent  with  such 
principles,  and  that  he  made  a  disastrous  mistake  in  not  enforcing  his  executive 
order  of  June,  1877.  .  .  .  But  despite  every  failure  and  inconsistency,  we  are  far 
from  supposing  the  President  to  be  insincere,  or  from  admitting  that  what  he 
has  not  done,  or  has  done  wrongly,  has  neutralized  the  real  service  that  he  has 
effected.  That  service  consists  in  introducing  in  the  two  chief  offices  of  their 
kind  in  the  country,  the  New  York  Custom-House  and  the  New  York  Post- 
Office,  a  system  of  appointment  by  proved  merit  and  without  personal  favor  or 
influence,  and  in  sustaining  the  system  for  nearly  two  years  against  the  most 
contemptuous  and  rancorous  and  insidious  hostility.  .  .  .  The  great  service  of 
President  Hayes  to  reform  is  to  have  shown  that  it  is  perfectly  practicable." 


CHAPTER  XXX 

RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS 

NO  less  important  than  the  pacification  of  the  South  or  the 
reform  of  the  civil  service  was  the  problem  presented  to  the 
Administration  by  the  condition  of  the  national  finances.  To 
the  inviolable  maintenance  of  the  public  faith  and  to  the  resump 
tion  of  specie  payments  on  the  date  fixed  by  the  law  of  1875, 
Mr.  Hayes  was  committed  alike  by  his  conscientious  beliefs  and 
by  his  convictions  of  duty.  In  all  his  public  utterances,  however 
much  other  leaders  of  his  party  might  be  affected  by  popular 
financial  delusions,  he  had  persistently  preached  the  sound- 
money  faith,  and  had  stood  unyieldingly  against  any  sugges 
tion  of  inflation  and  every  device  that  threatened  the  absolute 
fidelity  of  the  nation  in  meeting  its  obligations  to  its  creditors. 
It  was  his  success  in  defending  the  sound-money  cause  in  the 
Ohio  campaign  of  1875  that  attracted  to  him  the  attention  of  the 
country  and  made  him  the  candidate  in  1876.  His  letter  of 
acceptance  and  his  inaugural  address  only  reiterated  the  views 
on  finance  that  he  had  long  been  known  to  entertain  —  that  he 
had  expressed  with  such  vigor  in  his  letter  of  March  4,  1876, 
to  General  Garfield,  when  Congress  was  seeking  to  repeal  or  to 
weaken  the  Resumption  Law.  "I  would  consent  to  no  back 
ward  steps,"  he  wrote  then.  "To  yield  or  compromise  is  weak 
ness  and  will  destroy  us.  If  a  better  resumption  measure  can  be 
substituted  for  the  present  one,  that  may  do.  But  keep  cool. 
We  can  better  afford  to  be  beaten  in  Congress  than  to  back 
out/'  1 

It  was  in  this  spirit  that  Mr.  Hayes  faced  the  financial  prob 
lem.  So  far  as  he  was  concerned,  and  so  far  as  he  could  control 
the  course  of  events,  there  was  to  be  no  backward  step.  As 
regarded  resumption,  Mr.  Sherman  was  in  full  accord  and  sym 
pathy  with  the  President.  He  was  the  author  of  the  Resump 
tion  Act,  and  he  began  at  once  to  take  measures  to  exercise  the 

1  For  full  letter  see  chapter  xxiu. 


RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS        113 

authority  it  gave  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  make  it  effec 
tive.  Favorable  arrangements  for  the  sale  of  four  per  cent  bonds1 
were  made  with  a  syndicate  of  New  York  and  London  bankers, 
the  bulk  of  the  proceeds  of  which  was  used  to  retire  six  per  cent 
bonds,  but  a  portion  of  which  was  retained  in  the  treasury  to 
create  a  gold  reserve  against  the  day  of  resumption  of  specie 
payments.2  These  operations  were  carried  on  successfully  in 
spite  of  the  continuance  of  hard  times  which  had  prevailed  since 
the  panic  of  1873.  It  was  estimated  in  the  public  prints  of  the 
day,  doubtless  with  some  exaggeration,  that  three  million  men 
were  idle  throughout  the  country. 

In  midsummer  reduction  of  wages  led  to  strikes  of  trainmen 
on  all  the  great  trunk  lines  between  the  seaboard  and  the  Mis 
sissippi  Valley.  In  many  cities,  notably  Pittsburg,  serious  riots, 
attended  with  bloodshed,  rapine,  and  arson,  occurred,  and  the 
President,  at  the  request  of  the  Governors  of  several  States, 
promptly  sent  federal  troops  to  the  scenes  of  disorder  where  the 
militia  had  been  unable  to  maintain  the  peace.  Wherever  the 
regulars  appeared  order  was  quickly  restored,  in  every  instance 
without  shedding  blood.  But  the  strikes  and  the  riots,  symptom 
atic  as  they  were  of  wide  popular  unrest,  made  capital  timid 
and  for  months  there  was  no  further  sale  of  bonds. 

Continued  demands  for  the  repeal  of  the  Resumption  Act,  on 
the  ground  that  its  enforcement  would  necessarily  result  in  the 
contraction  of  the  currency,  and  persistent  agitation  in  favor 
of  the  remonetization  of  silver,  at  the  old  ratio,3  were  likewise 
alarming  the  conservative  influences  of  the  country.  All  through 
the  prolonged  first  session  of  the  Forty-fourth  Congress,  effort 
after  effort  had  unsuccessfully  been  made  to  emasculate  the 
Resumption  Law  and  more  than  one  attempt  was  made  to 
remonetize  silver.  In  its  second  session  the  disputed  election 

1  Under  an  existing  contract  made  by  Mr.  Sherman's  predecessor,  Lot  M. 
Morrill,  with  the  same  syndicate,  $135,000,000  of  four  and  one  half  per  cent 
refunding  bonds  was  sold  between  March  1  and  July  1,  1877,  and  an  equal 
amount  of  six  per  cent  bonds  was  retired,  thus  reducing  the  annual  interest 
charge  $2,025,000. 

2  The  syndicate  was  required  to  offer  the  bonds  for  thirty  days  for  popular 
subscriptions.    The  offer  was  made  July  1,  and  within  thirty  days  $67,000,000 
was  subscribed  for  in  this  country  and  $10,200,000  in  Europe. 

1  Now  become  attractive  to  the  advocates  of  cheap  money  because  of  the 
decreased  value  of  silver. 


114  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

absorbed  practically  the  whole  attention  of  Congress  and  the 
country,  though  the  House  early  in  the  session  passed  the  Bland 
Free  Coinage  Bill  by  a  vote  of  167  to  53.  And  now,  in  the  stagna 
tion  of  business  and  industry,  the  people,  especially  of  the  West 
and  South,  where  capital  was  less  abundant,  —  fallaciously 
identifying  currency  with  capital,  —  were  clamoring  for  more 
money,  and  were  ready  to  resort  to  any  expedient  that  promised 
relief.  The  Legislature  of  Illinois  had  actually  passed  a  bill  mak 
ing  silver  coins  a  legal  tender  at  their  face  value.1  The  Demo 
cratic  state  conventions,  held  in  the  summer  of  1877,  demanded 
both  the  repeal  of  the  Resumption  Act  and  the  free  coinage  of 
silver.  The  Greenback  Conventions,  of  course,  did  likewise,  and 
repeated  all  their  heretical  monetary  doctrines.  The  Republican 
state  conventions  of  the  West,  while  sustaining  the  Resumption 
Law,  declared  in  favor  of  the  restoration  of  silver  to  its  former 
status.2  Even  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  Republicans  were  con 
vinced  that  this  was  the  true  policy. 

Journals  of  all  parties,  away  from  the  conservative  Eastern 
cities,  echoed  the  popular  clamor  for  silver.  The  wonders  sure 
to  be  wrought  by  the  free  coinage  of  silver,  in  reviving  industry 
and  restoring  prosperity,  were  painted  by  orator  and  editor  in 
iridescent  colors.  They  were  quite  sincere  in  their  advocacy, 
and  scorned  the  notion  that  there  could  be  the  least  dishonesty 
or  sharp  practice  in  using  silver  at  the  historic  ratio  to  pay  the 
Government's  coin  obligations.  The  suggestion  that  the  silver 
dollar  was  a  dishonest  dollar  was  met  with  the  assertion  that 
gold  had  appreciated,  and  that  to  make  the  gold  dollar  the 
standard  measure  of  value  was  to  rob  the  debtor  class  for  the 
benefit  of  the  creditor  class,  who  were  constantly  represented  as 
heartless  and  rapacious.  Did  not  the  Act  of  July  14,  1870,  under 
which  the  refunding  of  the  national  debt  was  proceeding,  provide 
for  payment  "in  coin  of  the  present  standard  value"?  Was  not 
the  silver  dollar  at  that  time  the  actual  unit  of  value?  Admit, 

1  This  was  vetoed,  of  course,  by  Governor  Cullom. 

2  The  declaration  of  the  Iowa  Republicans  is  typical:  "That  the  silver  dollar 
having  been  the  legal  unit  of  value  from  the  foundation  of  the  Federal  Govern 
ment  until  1873,  the  law  under  which  its  coinage  was  suspended  should  be  re 
pealed  at  the  earliest  possible  day,  and  silver  made,  with  gold,  a  legal  tender 
for  the  payment  of  all  debts  both  public  and  private."    (Annual  Cyclopaedia, 
1877.) 


RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS        115 

indeed,  that  silver  had  depreciated  now.  Did  that  affect  in  the 
least  the  Government's  absolute  right  to  exercise  the  option 
afforded  by  its  contract  with  its  creditors  to  pay  them  in  either 
kind  of  the  coins  that  then  were  legally  in  existence  ?  Of  course, 
this  reasoning  tacitly  ignored  the  simple,  undisputed  fact  that, 
in  reality,  for  a  generation,  gold  had  been  the  sole  coin  standard 
of  the  United  States,  and  that  when  the  law  of  July,  1870,  was 
passed  no  Congressman  and  no  citizen  had  any  thought  that 
coin,  as  used  in  the  law,  meant  anything  but  gold. 

Thus,  when  Congress  met  in  special  session  October  15,  1877, 
Democratic  public  opinion  was  virtually  unanimous  in  favor 
of  the  repeal  of  the  Resumption  Act,  and  the  predominant 
opinion  of  all  parties  demanded  the  remonetization  of  silver. 
Almost  immediately  (November  5),  Mr.  Bland,  of  Missouri, 
introduced  in  the  House  the  Free  Silver  Bill  which  he  had  vainly 
sought  to  have  adopted  at  the  two  previous  sessions  of  Congress. 
Under  suspension  of  the  rules,  which  precluded  any  amendment 
or  discussion,  this  bill,  affecting  every  pecuniary  relation  of  the 
American  people  and  threatening  the  public  credit,  was  instantly 
passed  by  an  overwhelming  vote.  A  fortnight  later,  Mr.  Allison 
reported  the  bill  in  the  Senate,  with  amendments,  and  it  was 
placed  on  the  calendar.  At  the  same  time  the  House  voted  to 
repeal  the  Resumption  Act.1 

This  decided  drift  of  opinion  against  sound  financial  principles 
led  the  President,  in  his  first  annual  message,  to  make  a  plain 
and  earnest  presentation  of  his  views  touching  alike  the  urgent 
necessity  of  a  return  to  specie  payments  and  the  wrongfulness 
and  impolicy  of  a  debased  silver  coinage.  He  said:  — 

Upon  a  most  anxious  and  deliberate  examination  which  I  have  felt  it 
my  duty  to  give  to  the  subject,  I  am  but  the  more  confirmed  in  the 
opinion,  which  I  expressed  in  accepting  the  nomination  for  the  Presi 
dency  and  again  upon  my  inauguration,  that  the  policy  of  resumption 
should  be  pursued  by  every  suitable  means,  and  that  no  legislation 
would  be  wise  that  should  disparage  the  importance  or  retard  the  attain 
ment  of  that  result.  I  have  no  disposition,  and  certainly  no  right,  to 
question  the  sincerity  or  the  intelligence  of  opposing  opinions,  and 
would  neither  conceal  nor  undervalue  the  considerable  difficulties,  and 
even  occasional  distresses,  which  may  attend  the  progress  of  the  nation 

1  Twenty-seven  Republicans,  mostly  Western  men,  voted  for  the  repeal  bill, 
and  about  the  same  number  of  Eastern  Democrats  against  it. 


116  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

toward  this  primary  condition  to  its  general  and  permanent  prosperity. 
I  must,  however,  adhere  to  my  most  earnest  conviction  that  any  waver 
ing  in  purpose  or  unsteadiness  in  methods,  so  far  from  avoiding  or 
reducing  the  inconvenience  inseparable  from  the  transition  from  an 
irredeemable  to  a  redeemable  paper  currency,  would  only  tend  to  in 
creased  and  prolonged  disturbance  in  values,  and,  unless  retrieved,  must 
end  in  serious  disorder,  dishonor,  and  disaster  in  the  financial  affairs  of 
the  Government  and  of  the  people.  The  mischiefs  which  I  apprehend, 
and  urgently  deprecate,  are  confined  to  no  class  of  the  people,  indeed, 
but  seem  to  me  most  certainly  to  threaten  the  industrious  masses, 
whether  their  occupations  are  of  skilled  or  common  labor.  To  them,  it 
seems  to  me,  it  is  of  prime  importance  that  their  labor  should  be  com 
pensated  in  money  which  is  itself  fixed  in  exchangeable  value  by  being 
irrevocably  measured  by  the  labor  necessary  to  its  production.  This 
permanent  quality  of  the  money  of  the  people  is  sought  for,  and  can 
only  be  gained,  by  the  resumption  of  specie  payments.  The  rich,  the 
speculative,  the  operating,  the  money-dealing  classes  may  not  always 
feel  the  mischiefs  of,  or  may  find  casual  profits  in,  a  variable  currency, 
but  the  misfortunes  of  such  a  currency  to  those  who  are  paid  salaries  or 
wages  are  inevitable  and  remediless. 

Closely  connected  with  this  general  subject  of  the  resumption  of  specie 
payments  is  one  of  subordinate  but  still  of  grave  importance  —  I  mean 
the  readjustment  of  our  coinage  system,  by  the  renewal  of  the  silver 
dollar,  as  an  element  in  our  specie  currency,  endowed  by  legislation  with 
the  quality  of  legal  tender  to  a  greater  or  less  extent. 

As  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  power  of  Congress,  under  the  Constitution, 
"to  coin  money  and  regulate  the  value  thereof,"  and  as  this  power  cov 
ers  the  whole  range  of  authority  applicable  to  the  metal,  the  rated  value, 
and  the  legal-tender  quality  which  shall  be  adopted  for  the  coinage,  the 
considerations  which  should  induce  or  discourage  a  particular  measure 
connected  with  the  coinage  belong  clearly  to  the  province  of  legislative 
discretion  and  of  public  expediency.  Without  intruding  upon  this  prov 
ince  of  legislation  in  the  least,  I  have  yet  thought  the  subject  of  such 
critical  importance  in  the  actual  condition  of  our  affairs  as  to  present  an 
occasion  for  the  exercise  of  the  duty  imposed  by  the  Constitution  on  the 
President,  of  recommending  to  the  consideration  of  Congress  "such 
measures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient." 

Holding  the  opinion,  as  I  do,  that  neither  the  interests  of  the  Govern 
ment  nor  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  would  be  promoted  by 
disparaging  silver  as  one  of  the  two  precious  metals  which  furnish  the 
coinage  of  the  world,  and  that  legislation  which  looks  to  maintaining 
the  volume  of  intrinsic  money  to  as  full  a  measure  of  both  metals  as  their 
relative  commercial  values  will  permit,  would  be  neither  unjust  nor 
inexpedient,  I  must  ask  your  indulgence  to  a  brief  and  definite  statement 
of  certain  essential  features  in  any  such  legislative  measure  which  I  feel 
it  my  duty  to  recommend. 

I  do  not  propose  to  enter  the  debate,  represented  on  both  sides  by 


RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS        117 

such  able  disputants  in  Congress  and  before  the  people  and  in  the  press, 
as  to  the  extent  to  which  the  legislation  of  any  one  nation  can  control 
this  question,  even  within  its  own  borders,  against  the  unwritten  laws  of 
trade  or  the  positive  laws  of  other  Governments.  The  wisdom  of  Con 
gress,  in  shaping  any  particular  law  that  may  be  presented  for  my  ap 
proval,  may  wholly  supersede  the  necessity  of  my  entering  into  these 
considerations,  and  I  willingly  avoid  either  vague  or  intricate  inquir 
ies.  It  is  only  certain  plain  and  practical  traits  of  such  legislation  that  I 
desire  to  recommend  to  your  attention. 

In  any  legislation  providing  for  a  silver  coinage,  regulating  its  value 
and  imparting  to  it  the  quality  of  legal  tender,  it  seems  to  me  of  great 
importance  that  Congress  should  not  lose  sight  of  its  action  as  operating 
in  a  twofold  capacity  and  in  two  distinct  directions.  If  the  United  States 
Government  were  free  from  a  public  debt,  its  legislative  dealing  with  the 
question  of  silver  coinage  would  be  purely  sovereign  and  governmental, 
under  no  restraints  but  those  of  constitutional  power  and  the  public  good 
as  affected  by  the  proposed  legislation.  But,  in  the  actual  circumstances 
of  the  nation,  with  a  vast  public  debt  distributed  very  widely  among  our 
own  citizens,  and  held  in  great  amounts  also  abroad,  the  nature  of  the 
silver-coinage  measure,  as  affecting  this  relation  of  the  Government  to 
the  holders  of  the  public  debt,  becomes  an  element,  in  any  proposed  legis 
lation,  of  the  highest  concern.  The  obligation  of  the  public  faith  tran 
scends  all  questions  of  profit  or  public  advantage  otherwise.  Its  unques 
tionable  maintenance  is  the  dictate  as  well  of  the  highest  expediency, 
as  of  the  most  necessary  duty,  and  will  ever  be  carefully  guarded  by 
Congress  and  people  alike. 

The  public  debt  of  the  United  States,  to  the  amount  of  $729,000,000, 
bears  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent,  and  $708,000,000  at  the  rate 
of  five  per  cent,  and  the  only  way  in  which  the  country  can  be  relieved 
from  the  payment  of  these  high  rates  of  interest  is  by  advantageously 
refunding  the  indebtedness.  Whether  the  debt  is  ultimately  paid  in 
gold  or  in  silver  coin  is  of  but  little  moment  compared  with  the  possible 
reduction  of  interest  one  third,  by  refunding  it  at  such  reduced  rate.  If 
the  United  States  had  the  unquestioned  right  to  pay  its  bonds  in  silver 
coin,  the  little  benefit  from  that  process  would  be  greatly  overbalanced 
by  the  injurious  effect  of  such  payment,  if  made  or  proposed  against  the 
honest  convictions  of  the  public  creditors.  All  the  bonds  that  have  been 
issued  since  February  12,  1873,  when  gold  became  the  only  unlimited 
legal-tender  metallic  currency  of  the  country,  are  justly  payable  in 
gold  coin  or  in  coin  of  equal  value.  During  the  time  of  these  issues,  the 
only  dollar  that  could  be  or  was  received  by  the  Government  in  exchange 
for  bonds  was  the  gold  dollar.  To  require  the  public  creditors  to  take,  in 
repayment,  any  dollar  of  less  commercial  value,  would  be  regarded  by 
them  as  a  repudiation  of  the  full  obligation  assumed.  The  bonds  issued 
prior  to  1873  were  issued  at  a  time  when  the  gold  dollar  was  the  only 
coin  in  circulation  or  contemplated  by  either  the  Government  or  the 
holders  of  the  bonds  as  the  coin  in  which  they  were  to  be  paid.  It  is  far 


118  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

better  to  pay  these  bonds  in  that  coin  than  to  seem  to  take  advantage  of 
the  unforeseen  fall  in  silver  bullion  to  pay  in  a  new  issue  of  silver  coin,  thus 
made  so  much  less  valuable.  The  power  of  the  United  States  to  coin 
money  and  to  regulate  the  value  thereof  ought  never  to  be  exercised  for 
the  purpose  of  enabling  the  Government  to  pay  its  obligations  in  a  coin 
of  less  value  than  that  contemplated  by  the  parties  when  the  bonds  were 
issued.  Any  attempt  to  pay  the  national  indebtedness  in  a  coinage  of 
less  commercial  value  than  the  money  of  the  world  would  involve  a 
violation  of  the  public  faith  and  work  irreparable  injury  to  the  public 
credit. 

It  was  the  great  merit  of  the  Act  of  March,  1869,  in  strengthening  the 
public  credit,  that  it  removed  all  doubt  as  to  the  purpose  of  the  United 
States  to  pay  their  bonded  debt  in  coin.  That  act  was  accepted  as  a 
pledge  of  public  faith.  The  Government  has  derived  great  benefit  from 
it  in  the  progress  thus  far  made  in  refunding  the  public  debt  at  low  rates 
of  interest.  An  adherence  to  the  wise  and  just  policy  of  an  exact  observ 
ance  of  the  public  faith  will  enable  the  Government  rapidly  to  reduce 
the  burden  of  interest  on  the  national  debt  to  an  amount  exceeding 
$20,000,000  per  annum,  and  effect  an  aggregate  saving  to  the  United 
States  of  more  than  $300,000,000  before  the  bonds  can  be  fully  paid. 

In  adapting  the  new  silver  coinage  to  the  ordinary  uses  of  currency 
in  the  everyday  transactions  of  life  and  prescribing  the  quality  of  legal 
tender  to  be  assigned  to  it,  a  consideration  of  the  first  importance  should 
be  so  to  adjust  the  ratio  between  the  silver  and  the  gold  coinage,  which 
now  constitutes  our  specie  currency,  as  to  accomplish  the  desired  end  of 
maintaining  the  circulation  of  the  two  metallic  currencies,  and  keeping 
up  the  volume  of  the  two  precious  metals  as  our  intrinsic  money.  It  is  a 
mixed  question  for  scientific  reasoning  and  historical  experience  to  deter 
mine  how  far,  and  by  what  methods,  a  practical  equilibrium  can  be 
maintained  which  will  keep  both  metals  in  circulation  in  their  appropri 
ate  spheres  of  common  use.  An  absolute  equality  of  commercial  value, 
free  from  disturbing  fluctuations,  is  hardly  attainable,  and  without  it  an 
unlimited  legal  tender  for  private  transactions  assigned  to  both  metals 
would  irresistibly  tend  to  drive  out  of  circulation  the  dearer  coinage,  and 
disappoint  the  principal  object  proposed  by  the  legislation  in  view.  I 
apprehend,  therefore,  that  the  two  conditions  of  a  near  approach  to  equal 
ity  of  commercial  value  between  the  gold  and  silver  coinage  of  the  same 
denomination,  and  of  a  limitation  of  the  amounts  for  which  the  silver 
coinage  is  to  be  a  legal  tender,  are  essential  to  maintaining  both  in  circu 
lation.  If  these  conditions  can  be  successfully  observed,  the  issue  from 
the  mint  of  silver  dollars  would  afford  material  assistance  to  the  com 
munity  in  the  transition  to  redeemable  paper  money,  and  would  facili 
tate  the  resumption  of  specie  payment  and  its  permanent  establishment. 
Without  these  conditions,  I  fear  that  only  mischief  and  misfortune 
would  flow  from  a  coinage  of  silver  dollars  with  the  quality  of  unlimited 
legal  tender,  even  in  private  transactions. 

Any  expectation  of  temporary'  ease  from  an  issue  of  silver  coinage  to 


RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS         119 

pass  as  a  legal  tender,  at  a  rate  materially  above  its  commercial  value, 
is,  I  am  persuaded,  a  delusion.  Nor  can  I  think  that  there  is  any  sub 
stantial  distinction  between  an  original  issue  of  silver  dollars  at  a  nomi 
nal  value  materially  above  their  commercial  value,  and  the  restoration  of 
the  silver  dollar  at  a  rate  which  once  was,  but  has  ceased  to  be,  its  com 
mercial  value.  Certainly  the  issue  of  our  gold  coinage,  reduced  in  weight 
materially  below  its  legal-tender  value,  would  not  be  any  the  less  a 
present  debasement  of  the  coinage  by  reason  of  its  equalling  or  even 
exceeding  in  weight  a  gold  coinage  which  at  some  past  time  had  been 
commercially  equal  to  the  legal-tender  value  assigned  to  the  new  issue. 

In  recommending  that  the  regulation  of  any  silver  coinage  which  may 
be  authorized  by  Congress  should  observe  these  conditions  of  commer 
cial  value  and  limited  legal  tender,  I  am  governed  by  the  feeling  that 
every  possible  increase  should  be  given  to  the  volume  of  metallic  money 
which  can  be  kept  in  circulation,  and  thereby  every  possible  aid  afforded 
to  the  people  in  the  process  of  resuming  specie  payments.  It  is  because 
of  my  firm  conviction  that  a  disregard  of  these  conditions  would  frustrate 
the  good  results  which  are  desired  from  the  proposed  coinage,  and  em 
barrass  with  new  elements  of  confusion  and  uncertainty  the  business  of 
the  country,  that  I  urge  upon  your  attention  these  considerations. 

I  respectfully  recommend  to  Congress  that  in  any  legislation  provid 
ing  for  a  silver  coinage,  and  imparting  to  it  the  quality  of  legal  tender, 
there  be  impressed  upon  the  measure  a  firm  provision  exempting  the 
public  debt,  heretofore  issued  and  now  outstanding,  from  payment, 
either  of  principal  or  interest,  in  any  coinage  of  less  commercial  value 
than  the  present  gold  coinage  of  the  country. 

But  the  impressive  words  of  the  President,  reenforced  though 
they  were  by  the  cogent  reasoning  of  Secretary  Sherman  in  his 
report  at  the  same  time  to  Congress,  fell  upon  deaf  ears,  hardly 
serving  even  to  check  the  progress  of  the  silver  movement.  The 
agitation  for  silver  throughout  the  country,  indeed,  gained  new 
impetus.  The  papers  were  full  of  the  subject,  and  mass  meetings 
were  held  which  applauded  passionate  speeches  and  adopted 
impulsive  resolutions  denouncing  the  greed  of  the  bondholders 
and  demanding  the  restoration  of  the  people's  silver  birthright 
of  which,  as  it  was  stridently  and  persistently  asserted,  they  had 
feloniously  been  deprived.  Such  a  meeting  in  Chicago,  typical 
of  many  others,  on  December  13,  was  attended  numerously  by 
representative  men  of  all  classes  and  professions.  It  was  pre 
sided  over  by  Judge  Lawrence,  who  had  been  chairman  of  the 
Louisiana  Commission.  He  declared  that  the  restoration  of 
silver  to  legal-tender  quality  "would  certainly  turn  the  tide  of 
affairs  and  open  the  way  to  returning  prosperity."  "It  would 


120  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

give  new  life  to  our  stricken  industries  and  add  to  the  market 
value  of  our  property."  The  excited  resolutions  adopted  ex 
pressed  "alarm"  at  the  position  taken  by  the  President  in  his 
message  on  the  silver  question,  and  demanded  "that  the  silver 
dollar  be  restored  to  its  full  legal-tender  quality  in  payment  of 
all  debts  public  and  private,  and  we  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing 
short  of  this."  Judge  Booth,  chairman  of  the  resolutions  com 
mittee,  said :  — 

The  purpose  of  these  resolutions  is  to  give  utterance  to  the  collective 
voice  of  the  people  so  that  it  may  be  heard,  aye,  and  heeded,  too,  by  the 
powers  that  be  at  Washington.  We  would  in  this  matter  arouse  the 
slumbering  consciousness  of  the  President  and  his  advisers  to  some 
apprehension  of  the  fact  that  there  is  a  thunderstorm  brewing  in  the 
West,  and  that,  unless  they  have  a  care,  somebody  is  likely  to  be  hit  by 
the  lightning  of  public  wrath  and  indignation,  unless  they  concede  the 
just  demands  of  the  people. l 

In  the  Senate  the  Bland- Allison  Bill  was  made  the  occasion  for 
an  exhaustive  debate  which  the  President  followed  with  close 
attention,  remaining,  however,  unaffected  by  the  arguments  of 
the  silver  advocates.  February  3,  he  writes  in  his  diary :  — 

It  is  now  almost  a  certainty  that  the  Silver  Bill  will  pass  in  such  shape 
that  I  must  withhold  my  signature.  I  am  not  so  opposed  to  silver 
coinage  that  I  would  veto  a  bill  which  guarded  the  rights  of  creditors, 
and  operated  only  in  futuro.  But  I  cannot  consent  to  a  measure  which 
stains  our  credit.  We  must  keep  that  untainted.  We  are  a  debtor 
nation.  Low  rates  of  interest  on  the  vast  indebtedness  we  must  carry 
for  many  years  is  the  important  end  to  be  kept  in  view.  Expediency 
and  justice  both  demand  honest  coinage. 

Three  days  later  he  continues:  — 

The  measure  will  contract  the  coin  currency  of  the  country  by  expel 
ling  gold,  which  will  not  remain  in  the  presence  of  the  depreciated  silver. 

Finally,  on  February  15,  the  Senate  passed  the  bill,  modified 
by  additional  amendments.  The  bill  as  adopted  was  divested  of 
the  free-coinage  feature.  It  restored  the  silver  dollar,  at  the  old 
ratio  of  sixteen  to  one,  to  the  coinage,  and  made  it  a  legal  tender 
for  all  obligations  public  or  private,  "  except  where  otherwise 
expressly  stipulated  in  the  contract";  required  the  coining  of 
not  less  than  two  million  nor  more  than  four  million  dollars' 
worth  of  silver  monthly  on  government  account;  authorized 
1  Chicago  Tribune,  December  14,  1877. 


RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS        121 

the  issuance  of  silver  certificates  against  coin  deposited  in  the 
Treasury;  and  directed  the  President  to  invite  the  Governments 
of  the  Latin  Union  countries  and  other  European  nations  to 
join  in  a  conference  with  the  United  States  with  a  view  to  adopt 
ing  a  common  ratio  between  gold  and  silver,  so  as  to  establish 
international  bimetallism.  The  House  promptly  accepted  the 
Senate  amendments,  though  the  extreme  "friends  of  silver" 
saw  in  them  a  perversion  of  the  Bland  Bill  "from  its  original 
beneficent  purpose  and  effect."  Secretary  Sherman  thought  the 
bill  in  its  perfected  form  would  not  be  dangerous  to  the  finances 
of  the  country  nor  detrimental  to  its  credit,  believing  that  the 
limited  amount  of  silver  dollars  that  would  be  brought  into  the 
currency  could  be  kept  at  par  with  gold;  and  he  was  doubtful 
of  the  wisdom  of  a  veto.1  Moreover,  considerations  of  policy 
could  be  urged  to  justify  approval  of  the  bill.  The  measure  had 
commanded  the  votes  of  a  majority  of  the  members  of  both 
parties.  It  was  practically  certain  that  a  veto  would  have  no 
effect.  To  sign  the  bill  would  please  its  advocates,  especially 
among  the  Republican  members,  and  might  ease  the  friction 
between  them  and  the  President.  And  besides  all  this,  the  meas 
ure  was  immensely  popular  with  the  great  masses  of  the  people 
of  all  parties;  and  why  needlessly  affront  them  by  interposing  a 
veto  that  was  sure  to  be  overridden?  Mr.  Hayes,  however,  was 
firmly  convinced  that  the  bill  was  essentially  wrong,  that  "it 
was  not  nor  it  could  not  come  to  good."  This  is  clearly  indicated 
by  the  following  entry  in  the  diary  on  February  17:  — 

1  "I  did  not  agree  with  the  President  in  his  veto  of  the  bill,  for  the  radical 
changes  made  in  its  terms  in  the  Senate  had  greatly  changed  its  effect  and  tenor. 
The  provisions  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  purchase  not  less 
than  two  million  dollars'  worth  of  silver  bullion  per  month,  at  market  price,  and 
to  coin  it  into  dollars,  placed  the  silver  dollars  upon  the  same  basis  as  the  sub 
sidiary  coins,  except  that  the  dollar  contained  a  greater  number  of  grains  of 
silver  than  a  dollar  of  the  subsidiary  coins,  and  was  a  legal  tender  for  all  debts 
without  limit  as  to  amount.  The  provision  that  the  gain  or  seigniorage  arising 
from  the  coinage  should  be  accounted  for  and  paid  into  the  Treasury,  as  under 
the  existing  laws  relative  to  subsidiary  coinage,  seemed  to  remove  all  serious 
objections  to  the  measure.  In  view  of  the  strong  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  the 
free  coinage  of  the  silver  dollar,  I  thought  it  better  to  make  no  objections  to  the 
passage  of  the  bill,  but  I  did  not  care  to  antagonize  the  wishes  of  the  President. 
He  honestly  believed  that  it  would  greatly  disturb  the  public  credit  to  make  a 
legal  tender  for  all  amounts  of  a  dollar,  the  bullion  in  which  was  not  of  equal 
commercial  value  to  the  gold  dollar."  (Sherman's  Recollections,  chapter  xxxu.) 


RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

The  Silver  Bill  has  passed  the  Senate  with  amendments  that  will  send 
it  back  to  the  House.  It  will  no  doubt  reach  me  during  this  week.  I  have 
given  the  subject  some  study  and  much  anxious  reflection.  I  shall  veto 
the  bill.  It  will  probably  become  a  law  notwithstanding  my  veto.  In  my 
message  I  ought  to  give  a  brief  summary  of  the  objections  to  it,  and 
probably  I  ought  to  indicate  what  sort  of  a  silver  bill  might  receive  my 
approval  (?) ;  but  that  is  a  question  for  consideration.  I  feel  the  impor 
tance  and  responsibility  of  my  action.  But  I  have  no  misgiving.  The 
nation  must  not  have  a  stain  on  its  honor.  Its  credit  must  not  be  tainted. 
This  is  the  first,  and  great  objection:  It  is  a  violation  of  the  national 
faith. 

Feeling  in  this  way,  no  considerations  of  policy,  no  assurance 
of  popular  approval,  and  no  persuasions  of  party  leaders  and 
friends  1  whom  he  trusted  and  admired  could  have  any  weight 

1  Murat  Halstead,  editor  of  the  Cincinnati  Commercial,  wrote  him  November 
21,  1877:  "If  according  to  the  dispatches  of  the  day  you  should  veto  the  silver 
Bill  [providing  as  it  stood  then  for  free  coinage],  the  mistake  would  be  the  great 
est  possible  to  commit.  On  the  side  of  silver  are  the  laws,  the  morals,  and  the 
interests  of  the  nation."  And  after  the  bill  was  in  the  President's  hands,  Joseph 
Medill,  editor  of  the  Chicago  Tribune,  who  was  in  Washington,  earnestly  sought, 
by  personal  appeal  and  written  arguments,  to  induce  the  President  to  approve 
the  bill.  February  25  he  wrote  a  long  defense  of  the  bill,  ending  with  these  words: 
"If  a  veto  is  sustained  the  country  will  be  convulsed  with  excitement  and  indig 
nation,  and  wild,  desperate  men  will  get  control  of  popular  feeling  and  make 
mischief.  Ultra  measures  will  be  forced  through  Congress,  and  repeal  of  the 
Resumption  Act  will  be  attached  to  vital  appropriation  bills.  Vast  and  incal 
culable  injuries  may  result  from  tlrwarting  [the]  popular  will  on  the  Silver  Bill." 
Two  days  later,  he  wrote:  "The  Refunding  Act  of  July,  1870,  declares  in  practi 
cal  effect  that  the  Government  will  pay  the  five,  four  and  one-half,  and  four 
per  cent  bonds,  principal  and  interest,  in  so  many  ounces  of  silver  or  gold  at 
its  option  (one  thousand  ounces  of  silver  for  a  thousand-dollar  bond,  or  sixty- 
three  ounces  of  gold).  The  Government  never  undertook  to  guarantee  that 
the  purchasing  power  of  a  pound  of  silver  should  always  continue  equal  to 
that  of  an  ounce  of  gold;  nor  that  it  should  always  be  able  to  purchase  an  ounce 
of  gold  in  the  London  market;  nor  that  its  purchasing  power  in  commodities 
should  never  change.  Nor  did  the  Government  guarantee  that  Germany  should 
not  demonetize  her  silver  and  adopt  the  monometallic  system.  Nor  did  it  under 
take  to  defend  against  the  effect  of  such  act  on  the  relative  values  of  silver  and 
gold.  The  Government  cannot  be  held  responsible  for  any  of  those  contingencies. 
Congress  simply  ordered  bonds  to  be  offered  for  sale  and  pledged  the  faith  of  the 
nation  to  repay  each  (omitting  fractions)  in  one  thousand  ounces  of  silver,  or 
sixty-three  ounces  of  gold,  at  its  option  —  the  said  silver  and  gold  to  be  legal- 
tender  coin.  That  is  the  contract  naked  and  simple,  stripped  of  technicalities 
and  refinements.  And  the  American  people  are  not  educated  up  to  any  higher 
standard  of  morality  than  to  pay  their  debts  according  to  contract.  Now,  mark 
my  prediction.  1.  Silver  bullion  will  be  worth  not  less  than  ninety-four  cents 
within  thirty  days  after  the  Silver  Bill  goes  into  effect.  It  will  rise  thereafter 
about  one  per  cent  a  month  under  the  force  of  the  steady  and  prospective 


PRESIDENT  HAYES 
From  a  photograph  by  Landy  in  1877 


RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS         123 

with  him.  He  immediately  prepared  a  veto  message  which  he 
submitted  to  the  deliberation  of  the  Cabinet.  The  diary,  Feb 
ruary  26,  has  this  record :  — 

To-day  at  Cabinet  meeting  we  considered  the  Silver  Bill  passed  last 
week.  I  had  prepared  a  veto  message,  and  read  it  to  the  Cabinet. 
Colonel  Thompson  opposed  a  veto.  He  said  he  was  an  old  Whig  and  be 
lieved  the  old  Whig  doctrine  was  sound.  He  thought  there  should  be  no 
veto  on  grounds  of  expediency  or  policy.  There  must  be  a  violation  of 
the  Constitution,  or  haste,  or  mistake.  Here  was  a  measure  long  dis 
cussed  —  the  people  almost  unanimously  for  it  —  two  thirds  of  each 
House  for  it  —  the  measure  a  wise  one  and  demanded  very  earnestly  by 
the  country.  I  told  him  the  message  put  the  veto  wholly  on  grounds  of 
principle.  The  faith  of  the  nation  was  to  be  violated ;  the  obligation  of 
contracts  was  impaired  by  the  law.  Colonel  Thompson  replied  that 
there  was  no  provision  denying  to  Congress  the  right  to  impair  the 
obligation  of  contracts;  that  no  obligation  was  in  fact  impaired;  that 
contracts  were  made  in  view  of  the  right  of  Congress  to  alter  the  legal 
tender. 

Mr.  Evarts  differed  totally  from  Mr.  Thompson  as  to  the  right  of  the 
President  to  withhold  his  assent  to  measures  which  he  did  not  approve. 
The  President  under  the  Constitution  is  part  of  the  lawmaking  power. 
The  people  have  willed  that  no  measure  shall  become  a  law  unless  he 
approves  until  Congress  a  second  time  acts  on  the  bill  and  by  a  two- 
thirds  vote  passes  it  again. 

Sherman  disliked  the  condition  of  things.  Belmont,  the  agent  of  the 
Rothschilds,  fears  the  effect  of  a  veto  —  prefers  the  bill  should  be  ap 
proved,  bad  as  he  thinks  it  is.  But  Sherman  sees  no  other  course. 

McCrary  also  fears  a  veto.  Would  like  it  if  the  bill  is  to  pass  over  the 
veto.  But  if  the  veto  is  successful  in  killing  the  bill,  he  regards  with  great 
apprehension  the  result.  The  Democrats,  with  their  worst  elements  in 
advance,  will  come  into  power. 

Judge  Key  does  not  see  how,  with  the  known  principles  of  the  Admin 
istration,  anything  else  can  be  done  than  to  refuse  assent  to  the  bill. 

Judge  Devens  regards  a  veto  as  on  all  accounts  the  true  course. 

General  Schurz  thinks  a  veto,  if  successful,  will  save  the  country  from 
an  immoral  and  dangerous  measure,  and  if  not  successful  the  conse 
quences  will  be  less  damaging  than  the  effect  of  concurrence. 

coinage  demand  until  it  approaches  par  of  gold.  2.  Silver  legal-tender  dollars  will 
start  off  at  not  less  than  99|  in  gold  and  will  not  sink  below  99  at  any  time  during 
the  next  four  to  eight  years,  but  will  really  circulate  at  99|  to  par  all  the  time, 
until  they  rise  above  par,  which  may  be  within  two  or  three  years  on  account  of 
being  worth  intrinsically  three  per  cent  more  than  Latin  Union  legal-tender 
silver  coins.  There  never  was  'a  91-cent'  legal-tender  silver  'dollar'  in  any 
bimetallic  country.  Such  a  coin  is  a  myth  of  the  Wall  Street  brain." 

Even  Mrs.  Medill  wrote  Mrs.  Hayes  begging  her  to  use  her  influence  with 
the  President  to  persuade  him  to  sign  the  bill. 


124  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

For  a  veto,  decidedly :  Evarts,  Key,  Schurz,  Devens,  —  four.  For  a 
veto,  with  some  doubts :  Sherman  and  McCrary  —  two.  Opposed  to 
a  veto,  Thompson. 

Two  days  later  the  President  sent  his  veto  message  to  Con 
gress.  It  was  as  follows:  — 

To  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  :  — 

After  a  very  careful  consideration  of  the  House  Bill  No.  1093,  entitled 
"An  act  to  authorize  the  coinage  of  the  standard  silver  dollar  and  to 
restore  its  legal-tender  character,"  I  feel  compelled  to  return  it  to  the 
House  of  Representatives,  in  which  it  originated,  with  my  objections 
to  its  passage. 

Holding  the  opinion,  which  I  expressed  in  my  annual  message,  that 
"neither  the  interests  of  the  Government  nor  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  would  be  promoted  by  disparaging  silver  as  one  of  the  two  pre 
cious  metals  which  furnish  the  coinage  of  the  world,  and  that  legislation 
which  looks  to  maintaining  the  volume  of  intrinsic  money  to  as  full  a 
measure  of  both  metals  as  their  relative  commercial  values  will  permit 
would  be  neither  unjust  nor  inexpedient,"  it  has  been  my  earnest  desire 
to  concur  with  Congress  in  the  adoption  of  such  measures  to  increase 
the  silver  coinage  of  the  country  as  would  not  impair;  the  obligation 
of  contracts,  either  public  or  private,  nor  injuriously  affect  the  public 
credit.  It  is  only  upon  the  conviction  that  this  bill  does  not  meet 
these  essential  requirements  that  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  withhold  from 
it  my  approval. 

My  present  official  duty  as  to  this  bill  permits  only  an  attention  to 
the  specific  objections  to  its  passage  which  seem  to  me  so  important  as 
to  justify  me  in  asking  from  the  wisdom  and  duty  of  Congress  that 
further  consideration  of  the  bill  for  which  the  Constitution  has,  in 
such  cases,  provided. 

The  bill  provides  for  the  coinage  of  silver  dollars  of  the  weight  of 
412^  grains  each,  of  standard  silver,  to  be  a  legal  tender  at  their  nom 
inal  value  for  all  debts  and  dues,  public  and  private,  except  where  other 
wise  expressly  stipulated  in  the  contract.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
market  value  of  that  number  of  grains  of  standard  silver  during  the  past 
year  has  been  from  ninety  to  ninety-two  cents  as  compared  with  the 
standard  gold  dollar.  Thus  the  silver  dollar  authorized  by  this  bill  is 
worth  eight  to  ten  per  cent  less  than  it  purports  to  be  worth,  and  is  made 
a  legal  tender  for  debts  contracted  when  the  law  did  not  recognize  such 
coins  as  lawful  money. 

The  right  to  pay  duties  in  silver  or  certificates  for  silver  deposits  will, 
when  they  are  issued  in  sufficient  amount  to  circulate,  put  an  end  to  the 
receipt  of  revenue  in  gold,  and  thus  compel  the  payment  of  silver  for 
both  the  principal  and  interest  of  the  public  debt.  Eleven  hundred  and 
forty -three  million,  four  hundred  and  ninety-three  thousand,  four  hun 
dred  dollars  of  the  bonded  debt,  now  outstanding,  was  issued  prior  to 


RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS        125 

February,  1873,  when  the  silver  dollar  was  unknown  in  circulation  in 
this  country,  and  was  only  a  convenient  form  of  silver  bullion  for  expor 
tation;  $583,440,350  of  the  funded  debt  has  been  issued  since  February, 
1873,  when  gold  alone  was  the  coin  for  which  the  bonds  were  sold,  and 
gold  alone  was  the  coin  in  which  both  parties  to  the  contract  understood 
that  the  bonds  would  be  paid.  These  bonds  entered  into  the  markets  of 
the  world.  They  were  paid  for  in  gold  when  silver  had  greatly  depreci 
ated,  and  when  no  one  would  have  bought  them  if  it  had  been  under 
stood  that  they  would  be  paid  in  silver.  The  sum  of  $225,000,000  of 
these  bonds  has  been  sold  during  my  Administration  for  gold  coin,  and 
the  United  States  received  the  benefit  of  these  sales  by  a  reduction  of 
the  rate  of  interest  to  four  and  four  and  one  half  per  cent.  During  the 
progress  of  these  sales  a  doubt  was  suggested  as  to  the  coin  in  which  pay 
ment  of  these  bonds  would  be  made.  The  public  announcement  was 
thereupon  authorized  that  it  was  "not  to  be  anticipated  that  any  future 
legislation  of  Congress,  or  any  action  of  any  Department  of  the  Gov 
ernment,  would  sanction  or  tolerate  the  redemption  of  the  principal 
of  these  bonds,  or  the  payment  of  the  interest  thereon,  in  coin  of  less 
value  than  the  coin  authorized  by  law  at  the  time  of  the  issue  of  the 
bonds,  being  the  coin  exacted  by  the  Government  in  exchange  for  the 
same." 

In  view  of  these  facts,  it  will  be  justly  regarded  as  a  grave  breach  of 
the  public  faith  to  undertake  to  pay  these  bonds,  principal  or  interest, 
in  silver  coin  worth  in  the  market  less  than  the  coin  received  for  them. 
It  is  said  that  the  silver  dollar  made  a  legal  tender  by  this  bill  will, 
under  its  operation,  be  equivalent  in  value  to  the  gold  dollar.  Many  sup 
porters  of  the  bill  believe  this,  and  would  not  justify  an  attempt  to  pay 
debts,  either  public  or  private,  in  coin  of  inferior  value  to  the  money  of 
the  world.  The  capital  defect  of  the  bill  is  that  it  contains  no  provision 
protecting  from  its  operation  preexisting  debts  in  case  the  coinage 
which  it  creates  shall  continue  to  be  of  less  value  than  that  which  was 
the  sole  legal  tender  when  they  were  contracted.  If  it  is  now  proposed, 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  advantage  of  the  depreciation  of  silver  in  the 
payment  of  debts,  to  coin  and  make  a  legal  tender  a  silver  dollar  of  less 
commercial  value  than  any  dollar,  whether  of  gold  or  paper,  which  is 
now  lawful  money  in  this  country,  such  measure,  it  will  hardly  be  ques 
tioned,  will,  in  the  judgment  of  mankind,  be  an  act  of  bad  faith.  As  to 
all  debts  heretofore  contracted,  the  silver  dollar  should  be  made  a  legal 
tender  only  at  its  market  value.  The  standard  of  value  should  not  be 
changed  without  the  consent  of  both  parties  to  the  contract.  National 
promises  should  be  kept  with  unflinching  fidelity.  There  is  no  power  to 
compel  a  nation  to  pay  its  just  debts.  Its  credit  depends  on  its  honor. 
The  nation  owes  what  it  has  led  or  allowed  its  creditors  to  expect.  I 
cannot  approve  a  bill  which  in  my  judgment  authorizes  the  violation  of 
sacred  obligations.  The  obligation  of  the  public  faith  transcends  all 
questions  of  profit  or  public  advantage.  Its  unquestionable  mainte 
nance  is  the  dictate  as  well  of  the  highest  expediency  as  of  the  most 


126  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

necessary  duty,  and  should  ever  be  carefully  guarded  by  the  Executive, 
by  Congress,  and  by  the  people. 

It  is  my  firm  conviction  that,  if  the  country  is  to  be  benefited  by  a  silver 
coinage,  it  can  be  done  only  by  the  issue  of  silver  dollars  of  full  value, 
which  will  defraud  no  man.  A  currency  worth  less  than  it  purports  to  be 
worth  will  in  the  end  defraud  not  only  creditors,  but  all  who  are  engaged 
in  legitimate  business,  and  none  more  surely  than  those  who  are  depend 
ent  on  their  daily  labor  for  their  daily  bread. 

R.  B.  HAYES. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  February  28,  1878.1 

The  bill  was  immediately  passed  over  the  veto  and  became 
a  law.  And  thus  the  undervalued  silver  dollar,  source  of  un 
numbered  political  and  financial  woes,  was  brought  into  our 
monetary  system.  Probably  no  political  economist  or  student 
of  finance,  whose  opinion  would  now  command  wide  respect, 
could  be  named  who  does  not  believe  that  President  Hayes  was 

1  "I  sent  in  my  message  against  the  Silver  Bill  yesterday.  The  message  was 
short  and  I  hope  forcible.  My  objection  to  the  bill  is  that  it  authorizes  what  I 
think  is  dishonest.  I  trust  that  in  fact  no  actual  dishonesty  will  be  permitted 
under  it. 

"  A  year  ago  to-day  we  left  Columbus  to  come  to  Washington.  The  year,  if 
I  think  of  the  scenes  through  which  I  have  passed,  seems  an  age.  If  I  recall  the 
farewell  at  Columbus,  the  throng  at  the  State  House,  the  procession  to  the  depot, 
the  speech  and  farewell  there,  the  lapse  of  time  is  but  a  day.  I  have  tried  to  do 
my  duty.  The'  crowd  of  business,  the  urgent  misrepresentations  poured  into 
my  ears  by  men  who  ought  to  be  trustworthy,  have  led  to  mistakes,  serious 
mistakes,  mainly  in  appointments,  but  the  general  course  has  been  right.  I  have 
been  firm  and  self-possessed  on  the  most  difficult  and  trying  occasions.  I  am  not 
liked  as  a  President  by  the  politicians  in  office,  in  the  press,  or  in  Congress.  But 
I  am  content  to  abide  the  judgment  —  the  sober  second  thought  —  of  the 
people."  (Diary,  March  1,  1878.) 

Apropos  of  the  second  paragraph  just  given,  compare  what  George  William 
Curtis  says  in  a  review  of  the  first  year  of  the^  Administration  mHarper's  Weekly, 
March  23,  1878:  — 

"Some  most  excellent  results  have  been  accomplished.  In  accordance  with 
his  letter  and  his  inaugural  he  has  made  fewer  changes  in  minor  offices  than  any 
new  President  since  John  Quincy  Adams.  He  has  declined  congressional  dicta 
tion  in  nominations,  and  has  asserted  a  just  executive  independence.  But  the 
present  party  system  made  this  result  inevitable  for  any  President  who  did  not 
peddle  his  patronage  in  the  usual  way.  The  shock  to  the  system  has  also  turned 
against  him  a  large  part  of  the  party  press  and  the  'working  politicians.'  But 
despite  all  this,  and  despite  all  that  is  justly  censurable  in  the  details  of  the 
action  of  the  Administration,  there  is  no  doubt  that  its  general  purpose  and 
tendency  have  a  more  general  support  in  all  parts  of  the  country  and  among 
the  most  intelligent  and  patriotic  citizens  than  any  recent  Administration  has 
received.  .  .  .  Outside  of  the  strictly  'politician'  class  Republican  feeling  for  the 
President  is  still  warm  and  generous." 


RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS        127 

right  in  his  veto,  and  who  is  not  convinced  that  it  would  have 
been  far  better  for  the  country  had  Congress  accepted  his  judg 
ment.  In  the  confusion  of  financial  ideas  of  the  time,  which  was 
by  no  means  confined  to  our  country,  with  men  of  distinction 
and  journals  of  character  plausibly  arguing  the  possibility  and 
the  necessity  of  bimetallism  and  the  power  of  governmental 
action  to  fix  and  maintain  the  ratio  between  gold  and  silver,  the 
prevalence  of  the  popular  demand  for  silver  —  rising  in  many 
minds,  indeed,  to  a  passionate  and  unreasoning  sentiment  — 
cannot  excite  surprise.1  The  majority  in  Congress  shared  the 
feeling  of  their  constituents  and  correctly  reflected  their  desires. 
It  was  simply  inevitable,  in  view  of  all  the  conditions  and  senti 
ments  of  the  period,  that  the  country  should  try  the  silver  ex 
periment  and  learn  by  bitter  experience  that  the  natural  laws 
which  determine  the  ratio  of  exchange,  even  of  the  precious 
metals,  cannot  be  repealed  by  statutory  enactment.  The  Presi 
dent,  however,  who  did  see  clear  and  think  straight,  did  his 
duty  in  uttering  words  of  truth  and  soberness  in  warning  Con 
gress  and  the  country  of  the  perilous  path  on  which  they  were 
precipitately  entering. 

The  law  was  of  course  loyally  enforced,  the  Treasury  Depart 
ment  beginning  immediately  to  purchase  monthly  the  minimum 
amount  of  silver  (two  million  dollars'  worth)  required  by  the 
law  and  coining  it  into  dollars,  which  were  stored  in  the  treas 
ury  vaults.2  For  the  time  being,  and  for  a  considerable  period, 

1  George  Walker,  a  believer  in  bimetallism  and  an  opponent  of  free  coinage 
by  the  United  States  as  likely  to  retard  the  "cause,"  wrote  in  the  New  York 
Tribune  of  November  7,  1877:  "There  is  an  undoubted  silver  majority  among 
the  people  —  probably  a  large  majority;  and  the  attitude  assumed  by  the  gold 
party,  since  the  debate  upon  the  question  has  become  general,  has  been  ad 
mirably  calculated  to  make  it  larger  and  more  unreasoning  than  it  would  have 
been  with  a  fairer  treatment.   The  cry  of  the  'Dollar  of  the  Daddies'  has  not 
been  a  fortunate  one  for  those  who  reiterated  it.  The  case  is  far  too  serious  for 
ridicule,  and  the  popular  belief  that  it  is  one  in  which  the  interests  of  the  rich  are 
arrayed  against  those  of  the  poor,  required  the  most  considerate  and  respectful 
treatment,  if  any  hope  was  entertained  of  making  it  give  place  to  a  more  intel 
ligent  sentiment." 

2  The  international  conference  provided  for  in  the  second  section  of  the  law 
met  in  Paris  in  August.  Eleven  countries  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  President 
to  send  delegates.   The  President  appointed  for  the  United  States,  ex-Senator 
Fenton  (New  York),  W.  S.  Groesbeck  (Ohio),  and  Francis  A.  Walker  (Massa 
chusetts),  with  S.  Dana  Horton  as  secretary.  There  was  earnest  discussion  and 
the  presentation  of  endless  data,  but  no  agreement.    The  conference  had  no 


128  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

the  evils  that  were  sure  to  follow  did  not  appear,  and  the  appre 
hensions  of  the  financial  world  were  allayed.  On  sober  second 
thought,  now  that  free  coinage  of  silver  was  defeated,  even 
though  Congress  had  adopted  Senator  Matthews's  concurrent 
resolution  declaring  that  the  bonds  of  the  United  States  were 
payable  in  silver  dollars  and  that  such  payment  was  not  a  viola 
tion  of  the  public  faith,  conservative  bankers  and  investors  both 
at  home  and  abroad  settled  back  to  the  conviction  that,  what 
ever  unsound  financial  doctrines  might  be  proclaimed  or  men 
acing  experiments  tried,  the  United  States,  after  all,  would  never, 
by  any  indirection  or  plea  of  technical  right,  fail  to  fulfil  its 
strict  obligations  to  its  creditors.  Secretary  Sherman,  therefore, 
found  it  possible  to  resume  his  refunding  operations  by  the  dis 
posal  of  four  per  cent  bonds  and  to  continue  to  add  to  his  gold 
reserve.  Signs  of  returning  prosperity  and  a  more  hopeful  spirit 
in  the  business  world  made  easier  his  task.  In  April  he  was  able 
to  sell  to  the  old  syndicate  $50,000,000  of  four  and  one  half  per 
cent  bonds  at  a  premium  of  one  and  one  half  per  cent,  $10,- 
000,000  to  be  taken  at  once  and  $5,000,000  monthly  thereafter, 
for  gold,  all  of  which  was  to  be  placed  in  the  reserve  for  resump 
tion  purposes.  The  success  of  this  brilliant  achievement,  all 
the  details  of  which  were  published  at  the  time  and  widely 
commented  on,  dissipated  any  lingering  doubt,  in  the  minds  of 
most  sensible  people,  that,  in  the  absence  of  adverse  legislation 
by  Congress,  resumption  of  specie  payments  was  assured  on  the 
date  prescribed  by  the  law.  Indeed,  it  was  practically  operative 
already,  as  the  premium  on  gold  was  near  the  vanishing  point.1 

practical  result;  as  did  none  of  the  subsequent  similar  conferences  brought  about 
by  our  Government  in  seeking  to  "do  something  for  silver." 

1  "Mr.  Sherman  has  contracted  for  $50,000,000  gold,  and  gold  yesterday  fell 
to  100|!  It  now  looks  as  if  we  should  be  at  specie  payments  long  before  the 
1st  of  January,  1879.  We  have  passed  through  the  suffering,  let  us  have  the 
desired  end."  (Diary,  April  13,  1878.) 

"Sherman  returned  from  New  York  last  night.  His  loan  has  been  very  suc 
cessful;  $50,000,000  gold  before  1879  at  10l|  for  his  four  and  one  half  per  cent 
bonds.  The  premium  on  gold  almost  gone,  or  one  fourth  of  one  per  cent.  If 
we  can  practically  resume  before  the  elections  in  the  fall,  it  will  be  a  feather  in 
our  cap.  Now  we  are  hopeful.  With  reconciliation  proceeding  well,  and  resump 
tion  secured,  as  now  appears,  we  are  stronger  than  ever  before.  Our  position  on 
the  Silver  Bill  enabled  the  Republicans  in  the  Senate  to  improve  the  Bland  Bill: 
(1)  by  striking  out  free  coinage;  (2)  by  the  device  of  silver  certificates;  (3)  by 
a  commission  to  treat  with  other  nations."  (Diary,  April  14,  1878.) 


RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS        129 

Meanwhile  the  bill,  passed  by  the  House  in  November,  re 
pealing  the  Resumption  Act,  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Fi 
nance  Committee  of  the  Senate,  where  it  was  the  subject  of 
much  discussion.1  Secretary  Sherman  appeared  before  this  com 
mittee  and  explained  in  full  detail  the  condition  of  the  Treasury 
and  the  preparations  he  was  making  to  insure  resumption.  He 
appeared  for  a  similar  purpose  before  the  House  Committee  of 
Banking  and  Commerce  and  spent  several  days  in  making  clear 
"every  phase  of  the  financial  condition  of  the  United  States  and 
the  policy  of  the  Treasury  Department  in  the  past  and  in  the 
future."  2  Mr.  Sherman  convinced  the  members  of  both  com 
mittees  that  he  had  absolute  faith  in  the  ability  of  the  Admin 
istration  to  carry  out  the  Resumption  Act,  and  the  published 
reports  of  his  statements  had  a  reassuring  effect  on  the  public 
mind  and  doubtless  contributed  to  the  ease  of  his  subsequent 
negotiation  with  the  syndicate.  At  any  rate,  no  further  attempt 
was  made  to  repeal  the  resumption  part  of  the  law. 

One  excellent  provision  of  the  law,  however,  was  not  allowed 
to  stand.  That  was  the  clause  directing  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  as  national  bank-note  circulation  increased,  gradually 
to  redeem  and  retire  the  legal-tender  government  notes  (green 
backs)  in  excess  of  $300,000,000.  Under  the  operation  of  this 
provision  something  over  $30,000,000  of  greenbacks  had  been 
cancelled,  thus  manifestly  making  resumption  by  so  much 
easier.  Congress,  however,  viewed  with  impatience  anything 
that  looked  like  contraction  of  the  currency,  and  April  29,  under 
suspension  of  the  rules,  the  House  passed  a  bill  forbidding  any 
further  retirement  of  greenbacks.3  The  Senate  by  a  vote  of 
41  to  18  4  passed  the  bill  May  28,  and  May  31  it  became  a  law 

1  The  bill  was  reported  in  April  with  a  substitute  making  United  States  notes 
receivable  in  payment  for  refunding  bonds,  and  after  October  1,  1878,  for  duties 
on  imports,  and  providing  that  the  volume  of  such  notes  in  existence  on  that 
date  should  remain  in  permanent  circulation.  In  June  it  was  amended  so  as 
to  strike  out  the  last  provision  (already  by  that  time  embodied  in  a  separate 
law)  and  passed  by  a  vote  of  45  to  15.  In  the  House  the  attempt  to  pass  the 
amended  bill  under  suspension  of  the  rules  failed. 

1  Recollections,  chapter  xxxn. 

1  The  vote  was  177  to  35,  only  7  Democrats  voting  in  the  negative.  Among 
the  Republicans  voting  in  the  affirmative  were  Aldrich,  Foster,  and  McKinley. 

"4  Among  the  Republicans  that  voted  in  the  affirmative  were  Allison,  Elaine, 
and  Windom. 


130  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

by  the  President's  signature.  On  that  date  the  amount  of  green 
backs  outstanding  was  $346,681,016,  and  at  that  figure  the 
forced  loan  of  the  country  has  remained  ever  since,  with  ap 
parently  no  disposition  or  desire  on  the  part  of  the  people  to  do 
away  with  this  constant  menace  to  a  sound  monetary  system. 
A  veto  might  reasonably  have  been  expected  from  the  Presi 
dent  in  view  of  his  well-known  opinions,  though  it  would  doubt 
less  have  been  disregarded  by  Congress.1  But,  after  all,  there 
was  no  difference  in  principle  between  the  retention  in  circula 
tion  by  the  Government  of  $300,000,000  or  of  $346,000,000,  as 
long  as  resumption  was  assured.  So  the  President  followed  the 
advice  of  Secretary  Sherman,  in  whose  judgment  of  the  immedi 
ate  financial  situation  he  had  full  confidence.2  The  declarations 
of  state  conventions  of  1878  of  both  parties  show  that  the  meas 
ure  was  widely  popular.  The  greenback  had  been  so  long  in  use 
and  was  so  convenient  and  certain,  as  compared  with  the  old 
paper  currency  of  local  issue,  that  the  popular  mind  pretty 
generally  was  befuddled,  as  it  continues  to  be,  touching  its 
true  nature  and  proper  function. 

With  resumption  practically  assured,  Democratic  state  con 
ventions,  with  singular  fatuity,  still  demanded  the  repeal  of  the 
Resumption  Act;  and  conventions  of  all  parties  in  the  West 
urged  that  Congress  should  not  rest  content  with  the  Bland- 
Allison  Law,  but  should  give  the  country  free  and  unrestricted 
coinage  of  silver.  In  the  elections  in  November  the  Democrats 
were  again  successful  in  gaming  a  small  majority  of  members  of 

1  "A  veto  by  Hayes,  in  the  face  of  the  overwhelming  votes  in  both  houses  of 
Congress,  would  very  likely  have  been  overridden.    It  is  obvious  that  the  ap 
proval  of  this  act  was  contrary  to  his  convictions,  and  that  but  for  Sherman's 
leanings  to  the  policy  of  continuing  the  United  States  notes  as  a  permanent  part 
of  our  currency,  our  financial  history  might  have  been  altered  by  a  vigorous 
veto  of  this  reactionary  measure."    (A.  B.  Hepburn,  History  of  Coinage,  etc., 
chapter  x.) 

Mr.  Sherman  never  changed  his  opinion  in  regard  to  the  greenback  currency. 
In  his  Recollections  (chapter  xxxix),  he  says:  "I  am  convinced  that  United 
States  notes  based  on  coin  in  the  Treasury  are  the  best  form  of  currency  yet 
devised,  and  that  the  volume  might  be  gradually  increased  as  the  volume  of 
business  increases." 

2  "I  recommended  the  passage  of  this  law,  as  I  believed  that  the  retirement  of 
the  greenbacks  pending  the  preparation  for  resumption,  by  reducing  the  vol 
ume  of  the  currency,  really  increased  the  difficulties  of  resumption."    (Recol 
lections,  chapter  xxxm.) 


RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS        131 

the  House  of  Representatives  and  in  making  certain  that  they 
would  control  the  Senate  of  the  Forty-sixth  Congress.1 

Meanwhile  the  accumulation  of  the  gold  reserve  hi  prepara 
tion  for  the  day  of  resumption  went  steadily  on  from  the  monthly 
sales  of  the  four  and  one-half  per  cent  bonds  and  from  the  excess 
of  revenue  over  expenditures.  When  Congress  reassembled  at 
the  beginning  of  December,  1878,  the  President  was  able  to 
report  that  during  the  year  $100,000,000  of  four  per  cent  re 
funding  bonds  had  been  sold  and  an  equal  amount  of  six  per 
cent  bonds  redeemed;  and  Secretary  Sherman  to  announce  that 
the  Treasury  held  $142,000,000  of  gold  in  the  resumption  fund. 
In  view  of  the  existing  financial  conditions  the  President's  words 
to  Congress,  in  his  annual  message,  were :  — 

I  am  persuaded  that  the  welfare  of  legitimate  business  and  industry  of 
every  description  will  be  best  promoted  by  abstaining  from  all  attempts 
to  make  radical  changes  in  the  existing  financial  legislation.  Let  it  be 
understood  that  during  the  coming  year  the  business  of  the  country  will 
be  undisturbed  by  governmental  interference  with  the  laws  affecting  it, 
and  we  may  confidently  expect  that  the  resumption  of  specie  payments, 
which  will  take  place  at  the  appointed  time,  will  be  successfully  and 
easily  maintained,  and  that  it  will  be  followed  by  a  healthful  and  endur 
ing  revival  of  business  prosperity. 

Let  the  healing  influence  of  time,  the  inherent  energies  of  our  people, 
and  the  boundless  resources  of  our  country  have  a  fair  opportunity,  and 
relief  from  present  difficulties  will  surely  follow. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  on  January  2,  1879  (the  1st 
falling  on  Sunday),  as  the  law  had  directed,  the  resumption  of 
specie  payments,  the  possibility  and  propriety  of  which  had  been 
the  subject  for  years  of  such  fierce  party  contention  and  acri 
monious  dispute,  became  an  accomplished  fact,  without  a  ripple 
of  excitement  in  the  financial  world.  It  being  known  that  any 
one  could  have  gold  for  greenbacks  at  the  subtreasury  in  New 
York  for  the  asking,  nobody  cared  for  gold.  Instead  of  a  run  on 
the  subtreasury,  which  had  freely  been  predicted,  only  $135,000 
of  notes  was  presented  for  coin  on  January  2,  while  $400,000  of 
gold  was  exchanged  for  notes!  From  that  time  on,  the  gold  basis 

1  Mr.  Hayes  wrote  in  his  diary  November  6:  "The  elections  of  yesterday 
show  very  gratifying  results.  The  States  of  New  England  are  solid  for  sound 
principles.  .  .  .  Everywhere  in  the  North  we  are  stronger  than  in  any  off  year 
since  the  war,  except  possibly  in  1866  when  Johnson  was  overwhelmed.  The 
South  is  substantially  solid  against  us.  .  .  . " 


132  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

of  our  currency,  seriously  threatened  though  it  has  been  on  oc 
casion  by  the  silver  madness,  has  steadfastly  been  maintained. 
How  much  the  country  owes  to  President  Hayes's  confident 
belief  in  the  possibility  of  resumption  under  the  law  of  1875, 
while  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  public  men  and  the  financiers 
of  the  country  were  giving  way  to  doubts  and  fears;  how  much 
it  owes  to  his  unwavering  determination  to  execute  the  law, 
and  to  the  wisdom  and  energy  with  which  Secretary  Sherman 
enforced  that  determination,  can  hardly  be  overestimated.  No 
one  who  can  recall,  or  who  will  now  take  the  trouble  to  inform 
himself  of  the  currents  of  financial  opinion  that  were  swaying 
the  minds  of  men  in  that  period,  can  reasonably  doubt  that  had 
the  President  pursued  a  hesitating  or  vacillating  course,  the 
Resumption  Law  would  have  been  repealed  or  more  seriously 
emasculated,  and  the  investing  public  would  have  lacked  the 
stimulus  of  confidence,  which  the  Administration  applied,  and 
which  was  necessary  to  insure  success.  In  that  event,  resump 
tion  might  indefinitely  have  been  postponed. 

The  consummation  of  resumption,  the  knowledge  that  every 
dollar  was  now  a  gold  dollar,  that  the  circulating  medium  was 
no  longer  to  be  a  fluctuating  quantity,  whose  value,  for  the  day, 
no  one  could  know  without  consulting  the  quotations  of  the  Gold 
Exchange,  inspired  the  financial  and  commercial  world  with  an 
instant  access  of  confidence  and  hopefulness.  Renewed  alacrity 
and  energy  and  enterprise  began  to  be  manifest  in  the  business 
world,  and  the  revival  of  industry  rapidly  gained  momentum. 
In  the  next  few  months  Secretary  Sherman  was  able  to  refund 
in  four  per  cent  bonds  all  the  outstanding  five-twenty  six  per 
cent  bonds,  and,  likewise,  under  a  new  act  of  Congress  all  the 
ten-forty  sixes.  In  one  day  in.  April  he  had  offers  for  $159,000,- 
000  of  the  new  bonds.1  Thus,  in  slightly  more  than  two  years, 

1  Bonds  in  small  denominations  were  offered  for  popular  subscription  and  for 
these  there  was  a  great  demand.  May  24,  1879,  Mr.  Hayes  writes  in  his  diary: 
"A  novel  spectacle  in  this  city  for  some  days  past.  The  same  thing  doubtless 
in  all  of  the  large  cities.  The  postmasters,  collectors,  and  subtreasurers  have  had 
authority  to  sell  small  four  per  cent  bonds  —  not  more  than  one  hundred  dollars 
to  the  same  person,  so  as  widely  to  distribute  them  among  small  investors, 
among  the  people  of  small  means.  These  bonds  are  now  at  a  premium  of  two 
to  four  per  cent.  Speculators  employ  parties  to  buy  for  them.  Two  dollars  is 
made  every  time  one  hundred  dollars  is  bought.  The  poor  themselves  also  rush 
to  get  them.  The  consequence  is  great  crowds  of  negroes,  women,  boys,  etc.. 


MRS.  LUCY  WEBJi  HAYES 
From  a  photograph  by  Sarony  in  1877 


RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS        133 

the  Administration  had  accomplished  the  "impracticable"  task 
of  resumption  and  had  placed  the  credit  of  the  country  on  the 
firmest  foundations  on  which  it  had  ever  rested.  In  his  mes 
sage  of  December  1,  1879,  the  President,  with  pardonable  pride, 
could  present  this  narrative  of  the  Government's  financial 
operations :  — 

The  most  interesting  events  which  have  occurred  in  our  public  affairs 
since  my  last  annual  message  to  Congress  are  connected  with  the  finan 
cial  operations  of  the  Government,  directly  affecting  the  business  inter 
ests  of  the  country.  I  congratulate  Congress  on  the  successful  execution 
of  the  Resumption  Act.  At  the  time  fixed,  and  in  the  manner  contem 
plated  by  law,  United  States  notes  began  to  be  redeemed  in  coin.  Since 
the  1st  of  January  last  they  have  been  promptly  redeemed  on  presenta 
tion,  and  in  all  business  transactions,  public  and  private,  in  all  parts  of 
the  country,  they  are  received  and  paid  out  as  the  equivalent  of  coin. 
The  demand  upon  the  Treasury  for  gold  and  silver  in  exchange  for 
United  States  notes  has  been  comparatively  small,  and  the  voluntary 
deposit  of  coin  and  bullion  in  exchange  for  notes  has  been  very  large. 
The  excess  of  the  precious  metals  deposited  or  exchanged  for  United 
States  notes  over  the  amount  of  United  States  notes  redeemed  is  about 
$40,000,000. 

The  resumption  of  specie  payments  has  been  followed  by  a  very  great 
revival  of  business.  With  a  currency  equivalent  in  value  to  the  money 
of  the  commercial  world,  we  are  enabled  to  enter  upon  an  equal  com 
petition  with  other  nations  in  trade  and  production.  The  increasing 
foreign  demand  for  our  manufactures  and  agricultural  products  has 
caused  a  large  balance  of  trade  in  our  favor,  which  has  been  paid  in 
gold,  from  the  1st  of  July  last  to  November  15,  to  the  amount  of  about 
$59,000,000.  Since  the  resumption  of  specie  payments  there  has  also 
been  a  marked  and  gratifying  improvement  of  the  public  credit.  The 
bonds  of  the  Government  bearing  only  four  per  cent  interest  have  been 
sold  at  or  above  par,  sufficient  in  amount  to  pay  off  all  of  the  national 
debt  which  was  redeemable  under  present  laws.  The  amount  of  inter 
est  saved  annually  by  the  process  of  refunding  the  debt,  since  March 
1,  1877,  is  $14,297,177.  The  bonds  sold  were  largely  in  small  sums, 
and  the  number  of  our  citizens  now  holding  the  public  securities  is  much 
greater  than  ever  before.  The  amount  of  the  national  debt  which  ma 
tures  within  less  than  two  years  is  $792,121,700,  of  which  $500,000,000 
bear  interest  at  the  rate  of  five  per  cent,  and  the  balance  is  in  bonds 
bearing  six  per  cent  interest.  It  is  believed  that  this  part  of  the  public 

etc.,  gather  daily  at  the  Treasury  in  long  procession  —  each  in  turn  to  get  his 
one  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  bonds.  This  morning,  as  early  as  7  A.M.,  the  whole 
open  space  at  the  north  end  of  the  Treasury  was  filled  with  the  'cue'  of  investors. 
Some  go  to  sell  their  places  in  the  cue  or  procession;  and  do  so  at  from  ten  to 
twenty  cents,  or  more,  according  to  proximity  to  the  selling  desk." 


134  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

debt  can  be  refunded  by  the  issue  of  four  per  cent  bonds,  and,  by  the 
reduction  of  interest  which  will  thus  be  effected,  about  eleven  millions  of 
dollars  can  be  annually  saved  to  the  Treasury.  To  secure  this  important 
reduction  of  interest  to  be  paid  by  the  United  States,  further  legislation 
is  required,  which,  it  is  hoped,  will  be  provided  by  Congress  during  its 
present  session. 

The  coinage  of  gold  by  the  mints  of  the  United  States  during  the  last 
fiscal  year  was  $40,986,912.  The  coinage  of  silver  dollars,  since  the  pass 
age  of  the  act  for  that  purpose  up  to  November  1, 1879,  was  $45,000,850, 
of  which  $12,700,344  have  been  issued  from  the  Treasury,  and  are  now  in 
circulation,  and  $32,300,506  are  still  in  the  possession  of  the  Government. 

The  pendency  of  the  proposition  for  unity  of  action  between  the 
United  States  and  the  principal  commercial  nations  of  Europe,  to  effect 
a  permanent  system  for  the  equality  of  gold  and  silver  in  the  recognized 
money  of  the  world,  leads  me  to  recommend  that  Congress  refrain  from 
new  legislation  on  the  general  subject.  The  great  revival  of  trade,  inter 
nal  and  foreign,  will  supply  during  the  coming  year  its  own  instructions, 
which  may  well  be  awaited  before  attempting  further  experimental 
measures  with  the  coinage.  I  would,  however,  strongly  urge  upon  Con 
gress  the  importance  of  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to 
suspend  the  coinage  of  silver  dollars  upon  the  present  legal  ratio.  The 
market  value  of  the  silver  dollar  being  uniformly  and  largely  less  than 
the  market  value  of  the  gold  dollar,  it  is  obviously  impracticable  to 
maintain  them  at  par  with  each  other  if  both  are  coined  without  limit. 
If  the  cheaper  coin  is  forced  into  circulation,  it  will,  if  coined  without 
limit,  soon  become  the  sole  standard  of  value,  and  thus  defeat  the  de 
sired  object,  which  is  a  currency  of  both  gold  and  silver,  which  shall  be 
of  equivalent  value,  dollar  for  dollar,  with  the  universally  recognized 
money  of  the  world. 

The  retirement  from  circulation  of  United  States  notes,  with  the 
capacity  of  legal  tender  in  private  contracts,  is  a  step  to  be  taken  in  our 
progress  toward  a  safe  and  stable  currency,  which  should  be  accepted  as 
the  policy  and  duty  of  the  Government  and  the  interest  and  security  of 
the  people.  It  is  my  firm  conviction  that  the  issue  of  legal-tender  paper 
money  based  wholly  upon  the  authority  and  credit  of  the  Government, 
except  in  extreme  emergency,  is  without  warrant  in  the  Constitution, 
and  a  violation  of  sound  financial  principles.  The  issue  of  United  States 
notes  during  the  late  Civil  War  with  the  capacity  of  legal  tender  be 
tween  private  individuals  was  not  authorized  except  as  a  means  of  rescu 
ing  the  country  from  imminent  peril. ,;  The  circulation  of  these  notes  as 
paper  money,  for  any  protracted  period  of  time  after  the  accomplish 
ment  of  this  purpose,  was  not  contemplated  by  the  framers  of  the  law 
under  which  they  were  issued.  They  anticipated  the  redemption  and 
withdrawal  of  these  notes  at  the  earliest  practicable  period  consistent 
with  the  attainment  of  the  object  for  which  they  were  provided. 

The  policy  of  the  United  States,  steadily  adhered  to  from  the  adop 
tion  of  the  Constitution,  has  been  to  avoid  the  creation  of  a  national 


RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS        135 

debt;  and  when,  from  necessity  in  time  of  war,  debts  have  been  created, 
they  have  been  paid  off  on  the  return  of  peace  as  rapidly  as  possible. 
With  this  view,  and  for  this  purpose,  it  is  recommended  that  the  existing 
laws  for  the  accumulation  of  a  sinking  fund  sufficient  to  extinguish  the 
public  debt  within  a  limited  period  be  maintained.  If  any  change  of 
the  objects  or  rates  of  taxation  is  deemed  necessary  by  Congress,  it 
is  suggested  that  experience  has  shown  that  a  duty  can  be  placed  on 
tea  and  coffee,  which  will  not  enhance  the  price  of  those  articles  to  the 
consumer,  and  which  will  add  several  millions  of  dollars  annually  to 
the  Treasury. 

To  the  recommendations  of  the  President  in  regard  neither  to 
the  silver  coinage  nor  to  the  retirement  of  the  greenbacks  did 
Congress  pay  any  heed.  The  sentiment  in  favor  of  both  forms 
of  currency  still  dominated  the  public  mind.  Even  Secretary 
Sherman  did  not  approve  of  the  President's  views  regarding  the 
greenbacks,  being  entirely  content  "to  hold  on  to  the  progress 
made  in  making  United  States  notes  equivalent  to  coin  rather 
than  to  attempt  to  secure  their  retirement  from  circulation."  l 
Congress  refrained  during  this  session  from  any  financial  legis 
lation,  the  success  of  resumption,  the  growing  revenues,  and  the 
great  and  general  increase  in  prosperity  and  business  activity 
making  it  difficult  for  the  advocates  of  "cheap  money"  to  com 
mand  a  hearing.  In  so  favorable  a  condition  were  the  finances 
of  the  country  felt  to  be  that  in  their  national  platform  in  1880 
the  Republicans  merely  rehearsed  the  financial  accomplishments 
of  their  period  of  power  and  made  no  commitments  for  the  future; 
while  the  Democrats  declared  for  "honest  money  consisting  of 
gold  and  silver,  and  paper  convertible  to  coin  on  demand,"  and 
for  "the  strict  maintenance  of  the  public  faith." 

In  his  last  annual  message,  December  6,  1880,  Mr.  Hayes 
made  a  final,  unavailing  plea  both  for  the  retirement  of  the 
greenbacks  and  for  an  honest  silver  dollar,  saying :  — 

1  Recollections,  chapter  xxxix.  In  this  connection  the  following  entry  in  Mr. 
Hayes's  diary,  of  July  24,  1879,  is  interesting:  "Sherman  made  an  effective 
speech  at  Portland  yesterday.  He  is  now  a  candidate  for  the  Republican  Presi 
dential  nomination.  I  would  make  two  criticisms  [on  the  speech]:  1.  It  gives 
encouragement  to  sectionalism.  2.  It  is  not  sound  on  the  financial  question. 
On  the  latter  question,  he  expresses  the  opinion  that  legal-tender  notes  ought  to 
be,  or  may  very  well  be,  a  part  of  the  paper  currency  of  the  country.  Now  in  my 
opinion  (1)  these  notes  are  not  in  time  of  peace  a  constitutional  currency,  and 
(2)  they  are  a  dangerous  currency,  depending  as  they  do  wholly  on  congressional 
discretion  as  to  their  amount,  their  issue,  and  all  of  their  functions." 


136  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

The  continuance  of  specie  payments  has  not  been  interrupted  or 
endangered  since  the  date  of  resumption.  It  has  contributed  greatly  to 
the  revival  of  business  and  to  our  remarkable  prosperity.  The  fears 
that  preceded  and  accompanied  resumption  have  proved  groundless. 

No  considerable  amount  of  United  States  notes  have  been  presented 
for  redemption,  while  very  large  sums  of  gold  bullion,  both  domestic 
and  imported,  are  taken  to  the  mints  and  exchanged  for  coin  or  notes. 
The  increase  of  coin  and  bullion  in  the  United  States  since  January  1, 
1879,  is  estimated  at  $227,399,428. 

There  are  still  in  existence,  uncancelled,  $346,681,016  of  United  States 
legal-tender  notes.  These  notes  were  authorized  as  a  war  measure,  made 
necessary  by  the  exigencies  of  the  conflict  in  which  the  United  States 
was  then  engaged.  The  preservation  of  the  nation's  existence  required, 
in  the  judgment  of  Congress,  an  issue  of  legal-tender  paper  money. 
That  it  served  well  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  created  is  not  ques 
tioned,  but  the  employment  of  the  notes  as  paper  money  indefinitely, 
after  the  accomplishment  of  the  object  for  which  they  were  provided, 
was  not  contemplated  by  the  framers  of  the  law  under  which  they  were 
issued.  These  notes  long  since  became,  like  any  other  pecuniary  obliga 
tion  of  the  Government,  a  debt  to  be  paid,  and,  when  paid,  to  be  can 
celled  as  a  mere  evidence  of  an  indebtedness  no  longer  existing.  I,  there 
fore,  repeat  what  was  said  in  the  annual  message  of  last  year,  that  the 
retirement  from  circulation  of  United  States  notes,  with  the  capacity  of 
legal  tender  in  private  contracts,  is  a  step  to  be  taken  in  our  progress 
toward  a  safe  and  stable  currency,  which  should  be  accepted  as  the  pol 
icy  and  duty  of  the  Government  and  the  interest  and  security  of  the 
people. 

At  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  act  now  in  force  requiring  the  coinage 
of  silver  dollars,  fixing  their  value  and  giving  them  legal-tender  charac 
ter,  it  was  believed  by  many  of  the  supporters  of  the  measure  that  the 
silver  dollar,  which  it  authorized,  would  speedily  become,  under  the 
operations  of  the  law,  of  equivalent  value  to  the  gold  dollar.  There  were 
other  supporters  of  the  bill,  who,  while  they  doubted  as  to  the  proba 
bility  of  this  result,  nevertheless  were  willing  to  give  the  proposed  experi 
ment  a  fair  trial,  with  a  view  to  stop  the  coinage,  if  experience  should 
prove  that  the  silver  dollar  authorized  by  the  bill  continued  to  be  of  less 
commercial  value  than  the  standard  gold  dollar. 

The  coinage  of  silver  dollars,  under  the  act  referred  to,  began  in 
March,  1878,  and  has  been  continued  as  required  by  the  act.  The  aver 
age  rate  per  month  to  the  present  time  has  been  $2,276,492.  The  total 
amount  coined  prior  to  the  1st  of  November  last  was  $72,847,750.  Of 
this  amount  $47,084,450  remain  in  the  Treasury,  and  only  $25,763,291 
are  in  the  hands  of  the  people.  A  constant  effort  has  been  made  to  keep 
this  currency  in  circulation,  and  considerable  expense  has  been  neces 
sarily  incurred  for  this  purpose ;  but  its  return  to  the  Treasury  is  prompt 
and  sure.  Contrary  to  the  confident  anticipation  of  the  friends  of 
the  measure  at  the  time  of  its  adoption,  the  value  of  the  silver  dollar, 


RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS        137 

containing  412J  grains  of  silver,  has  not  increased.  During  the  year 
prior  to  the  passage  of  the  bill  authorizing  its  coinage,  the  market  value 
of  the  silver  which  it  contained  was  from  ninety  to  ninety-two  cents, 
as  compared  with  the  standard  gold  dollar.  During  the  last  year  the 
average  market  value  of  the  silver  dollar  has  been  eighty-eight  and  a 
half  cents. 

It  is  obvious,  that  the  legislation  of  the  last  Congress  in  regard  to 
silver,  so  far  as  it  was  based  on  an  anticipated  rise  in  the  value  of  silver 
as  a  result  of  that  legislation,  has  failed  to  produce  the  effect  then  pre 
dicted.  The  longer  the  law  remains  in  force,  requiring  as  it  does  the 
coinage  of  a  nominal  dollar  which  in  reality  is  not  a  dollar,  the  greater 
becomes  the  danger  that  this  country  will  be  forced  to  accept  a  single 
metal  as  the  sole  legal  standard  of  value  in  circulation,  and  this  a  stand 
ard  of  less  value  than  it  purports  to  be  worth  in  the  recognized  money  of 
the  world. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  sound  financial  principles,  and 
our  best  interests,  all  require  that  the  country  should  have  as  its  legal- 
tender  money  both  gold  and  silver  coin,  of  an  intrinsic  value,  as  bullion, 
equivalent  to  that  which,  upon  its  face,  it  purports  to  possess.  The  Con 
stitution  in  express  terms  recognizes  both  gold  and  silver  as  the  only 
true  legal-tender  money.  To  banish  either  of  these  metals  from  our  cur 
rency  is  to  narrow  and  limit  the  circulating  medium  of  exchange  to  the 
disparagement  of  important  interests.  The  United  States  produces 
more  silver  than  any  other  country,  and  is  directly  interested  in  main 
taining  it  as  one  of  the  two  precious  metals  which  furnish  the  coinage  of 
the  world.  It  will,  in  my  judgment,  contribute  to  this  result  if  Congress 
will  repeal  so  much  of  existing  legislation  as  requires  the  coinage  of  silver 
dollars  containing  only  412  J  grains  of  silver,  and  in  its  stead  will  au 
thorize  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  coin  silver  dollars  of  equivalent 
value,  as  bullion,  with  gold  dollars.  This  will  defraud  no  man  and  will 
be  in  accordance  with  familiar  precedents.  Congress,  on  several  occa 
sions,  has  altered  the  ratio  of  value  between  gold  and  silver,  in  order  to 
establish  it  more  nearly  in  accordance  with  the  actual  ratio  of  value 
between  the  two  metals. 

In  financial  legislation  every  measure  in  the  direction  of  greater  fidel 
ity  in  the  discharge  of  pecuniary  obligation  has  been  found  by  experience 
to  diminish  the  rates  of  interest  which  debtors  are  required  to  pay  and 
to  increase  the  facility  with  which  money  can  be  obtained  for  every 
legitimate  purpose.  Our  own  recent  financial  history  shows  how  surely 
money  becomes  abundant  whenever  confidence  in  the  exact  perform-, 
ance  of  moneyed  obligations  is  established. 

In  this  message  also  Mr.  Hayes  directed  the  attention  of  Con 
gress  to  the  fact  that  six  hundred  millions  of  five  and  six  per  cent 
bonds  would  soon  be  redeemable,  and  recommended  prompt 
legislation  to  enable  the  Treasury  Department  to  refund  them 


138  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

at  a  lower  rate.  Congress,  after  long  debate,  finally,  on  March  1, 
sent  a  Refunding  Bill  l  to  the  President,  which  contained  such 
objectionable  features  that  he  was  unable  to  affix  his  signature, 
and,  on  March  3,  he  returned  it  with  this  veto  message :  — 

To  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES: 

Having  considered  the  bill  entitled  "An  act  to  facilitate  the  refunding 
of  the  national  debt,"  I  am  constrained  to  return  it  to  the  House  of 
Representatives,  in  which  it  originated,  with  the  following  statement 
of  my  objections  to  its  passage. 

The  imperative  necessity  for  prompt  action,  and  the  pressure  of 
public  duties  in  this  closing  week  of  my  term  of  office,  compel  me  to 
refrain  from  any  attempt  to  make  a  full  and  satisfactory  presentation 
of  the  objections  to  the  bill. 

The  importance  of  the  passage  at  the  present  session  of  Congress  of 
a  suitable  measure  for  the  refunding  of  the  national  debt,  which  is  about 
to  mature,  is  generally  recognized.  It  has  been  urged  upon  the  atten 
tion  of  Congress  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  in  my  last  annual 
message.  If  successfully  accomplished,  it  will  secure  a  large  decrease  in 
the  annual  interest  payment  of  the  nation;  and  I  earnestly  recommend, 
if  the  bill  before  me  shall  fail,  that  another  measure  for  this  purpose  be 
adopted  before  the  present  Congress  adjourns. 

While  in  my  opinion  it  would  be  wise  to  authorize  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  in  his  discretion,  to  offer  to  the  public  bonds  bearing  three 
and  one-half  per  cent  interest  in  aid  of  refunding,  I  should  not  deem  it 
my  duty  to  interpose  my  constitutional  objection  to  the  passage  of  the 
present  bill  if  it  did  not  contain,  in  its  fifth  section,  provisions  which  in 
my  judgment  seriously  impair  the  value  and  tend  to  the  destruction  of 
the  present  National  Banking  system  of  the  country.  This  system  has 
now  been  in  operation  almost  twenty  years.  No  safer  or  more  beneficial 
banking  system  was  ever  established.  Its  advantages  as  a  business  are 
free  to  all  who  have  the  necessary  capital.  It  furnishes  a  currency  to  the 
public  which  for  convenience  and  the  security  of  the  bill-holder  has 
probably  never  been  equalled  by  that  of  any  other  banking  system.  Its 
notes  are  secured  by  the  deposit  with  the  Government  of  the  interest- 
bearing  bonds  of  the  United  States. 

1  The  bill  as  originally  drawn  provided  for  three  and  one-half  per  cent  bonds 
to  the  amount  of  $500,000,000  and  three  and  one-half  per  cent  notes  to  the 
amount  of  $200,000,000,  redeemable  at  pleasure,  to  be  used  in  retiring  any  bonds 
as  they  became  redeemable, par  for  par.  Mr.  Sherman  says  (Recollections,  chap 
ter  XLI) :  "Had  this  bill  passed,  as  introduced,  any  time  before  the  4th  of  March, 
1881,  it  would  have  saved  the  United  States  enormous  sums  of  money  and  would 
have  greatly  strengthened  the  public  credit.  It  was  in  harmony  with  the  recom 
mendations  made  by  the  President  and  by  myself  in  our  annual  reports.  .  .  . 
Instead  of  this  action,  amendments  of  the  wildest  character  were  offered,  and  the 
committee  which  reported  the  bill  acquiesced  in  radical  changes,  which  made 
the  execution  of  the  law,  if  passed,  practically  impossible." 


RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS        139 

The  section  of  the  bill  before  me  which  relates  to  the  National  Bank 
ing  system,  and  to  which  objection  is  made,  is  not  an  essential  part  of  a 
refunding  measure.  It  is  as  follows :  — 

"SEC.  5.  From  and  after  the  1st  day  of  July,  1881,  the  three  per  cent 
bonds  authorized  by  the  first  section  of  this  act  shall  be  the  only  bonds 
receivable  as  security  for  National-Bank  circulation,  or  as  security  for 
the  safe-keeping  and  prompt  payment  of  the  public  money  deposited 
with  such  banks;  but  when  any  such  bonds  deposited  for  the  purposes 
aforesaid  shall  be  designated  for  purchase  or  redemption  by  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Treasury,  the  banking  association  depositing  the  same  shall 
have  the  right  to  substitute  other  issues  of  the  bonds  of  the  United  States 
in  lieu  thereof :  Provided,  That  no  bond  upon  which  interest  has  ceased 
shall  be  accepted  or  shall  be  continued  on  deposit  as  security  for  circula 
tion  or  for  the  safe-keeping  of  the  public  money;  and  in  case  bonds  so 
deposited  shall  not  be  withdrawn,  as  provided  by  law,  within  thirty 
days  after  interest  has  ceased  thereon,  the  banking  association  depositing 
the  same  shall  be  subject  to  the  liabilities  and  proceedings  on  the  part 
of  the  Comptroller  provided  for  in  section  5234  of  the  Revised  Statutes 
of  the  United  States:  And  provided  further,  That  section  4  of  the  Act  of 
June  20, 1874,  entitled  'An  Act  fixing  the  amount  of  United  States  notes 
providing  for  a  redistribution  of  the  National-Bank  currency,  and  for 
other  purposes,'  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  repealed;  and  sections  5159 
and  5160  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States  be,  and  the  same 
are  hereby,  reenacted." 

Under  this  section  is  is  obvious  that  no  additional  banks  will  hereafter 
be  organized,  except  possibly  in  a  few  cities  or  localities  where  the  pre 
vailing  rates  of  interest  in  ordinary  business  are  extremely  low.  No  new 
banks  can  be  organized,  and  no  increase  of  the  capital  of  existing  banks 
can  be  obtained,  except  by  the  purchase  and  deposit  of  three  per  cent 
bonds.  No  other  bonds  of  the  United  States  can  be  used  for  the  purpose. 
The  one  thousand  millions  of  other  bonds  recently  issued  by  the  United 
States,  and  bearing  a  higher  rate  of  interest  than  three  per  cent,  and 
therefore  a  better  security  for  the  bill-holder,  cannot,  after  the  1st  of 
July  next,  be  received  as  security  for  bank  circulation.  This  is  a  radical 
change  in  the  banking  law.  It  takes  from  the  banks  the  right  they  have 
heretofore  had  under  the  law  to  purchase  and  deposit,  as  security  for 
their  circulation,  any  of  the  bonds  issued  by  the  United  States,  and 
deprives  the  bill-holder  of  the  best  security  which  the  banks  are  able  to 
give,  by  requiring  them  to  deposit  bonds  having  the  least  value  of  any 
bonds  issued  by  the  Government. 

The  average  rate  of  taxation  of  capital  employed  in  banking  is  more 
than  double  the  rate  of  taxation  upon  capital  employed  in  other  legiti 
mate  business.  Under  these  circumstances,  to  amend  the  banking  law 
so  as  to  deprive  the  banks  of  the  privilege  of  securing  their  notes  by  the 
most  valuable  bonds  issued  by  the  Government  will,  it  is  believed,  in  a 
large  part  of  the  country,  be  a  practical  prohibition  of  the  organization 
of  new  banks,  and  prevent  the  existing  banks  from  enlarging  their  capital. 


140  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

The  National  Banking  system,  if  continued  at  all,  will  be  a  monopoly 
in  the  hands  of  those  already  engaged  in  it,  who  may  purchase  govern 
ment  bonds  bearing  a  more  favorable  rate  of  interest  than  the  three  per 
cent  bonds  prior  to  next  July. 

To  prevent  the  further  organization  of  banks  is  to  put  in  jeopardy  the 
whole  system  by  taking  from  it  that  feature  which  makes  it,  as  it  now  is, 
a  banking  system  free  upon  the  same  terms  to  all  who  wish  to  engage  in 
it.  Even  the  existing  banks  will  be  in  danger  of  being  driven  from  busi 
ness  by  the  additional  disadvantages  to  which  they  will  be  subjected  by 
this  bill.  In  short,  I  cannot  but  regard  the  fifth  section  of  the  bill  as  a 
step  in  the  direction  of  the  destruction  of  the  National  Banking  system. 

Our  country,  after  a  long  period  of  business  depression,  has  just 
entered  upon  a  career  of  unexampled  prosperity. 

The  withdrawal  of  the  currency  from  circulation  of  the  National 
Banks  and  the  enforced  winding  up  of  the  banks  in  consequence,  would 
inevitably  bring  serious  embarrassment  and  disaster  to  the  business  of 
the  country.  Banks  of  issue  are  essential  instruments  of  modern  com 
merce.  If  the  present  efficient  and  admirable  system  of  banking  is  broken 
down,  it  will  inevitably  be  followed  by  a  recurrence  to  other  and  inferior 
methods  of  banking.  Any  measure  looking  to  such  a  result  will  be  a 
disturbing  element  in  our  financial  system.  It  will  destroy  confidence 
and  surely  check  the  growing  prosperity  of  the  country. 

Believing  that  a  measure  for  refunding  the  national  debt  is  not  neces 
sarily  connected  with  the  National  Banking  Law,  and  that  any  refund 
ing  act  would  defeat  its  own  object  if  it  imperilled  the  National  Banking 
system  or  seriously  impaired  its  usefulness,  and  convinced  that  section 
5  of  the  bill  before  me  would,  if  it  should  become  a  law,  work  great 
harm,  I  herewith  return  the  bill  to  the  House  of  Representatives  for  that 
further  consideration  which  is  provided  for  in  the  Constitution. 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  March  3,  1881. 

This  veto  message  was  the  last  service  rendered  by  Mr.  Hayes, 
as  President,  to  the  cause  of  sound  finance.1  Throughout  his 
incumbency,  with  the  possible  exception  of  his  failure  to  veto 
the  bill  repealing  the  clause  of  the  Resumption  Law  providing 
for  the  retirement  of  greenbacks  in  excess  of  $300,000,000,  he 
had  adhered  consistently  in  word  and  action  to  the  cause  of 
sound  money  and  had  unfalteringly  insisted  on  the  sacredness 

1  "This  last  important  official  act  of  President  Hayes  gives  him  a  new  title 
to  the  grateful  respect  of  his  countrymen.  Those  of  his  own  party,  who  have 
joined  with  the  worst  elements  of  the  opposition  to  thwart  and  embarrass  his 
Administration,  have  seen  it  close  amid  expressions  of  hearty  good-will  from  all 
sides,  and  sure  of  a  constantly  increasing  regard  hereafter."  (Harper's  Weekly, 
editorial,  March  19,  1881.) 


RESUMPTION  OF  SPECIE  PAYMENTS        141 

of  the  national  obligations.  Undoubtedly  the  country  would 
have  been  spared  many  anxious  years  if  the  financial  principles 
and  policy  that  he  presented  and  impressively  advocated  could 
have  been  adopted  and  maintained.  As  it  was,  the  course  he 
pursued  and  the  counsel  he  gave  had  vast  influence  in  checking 
the  prevalence  of  financial  heresy  and  renewing  the  confidence 
of  the  country  in  the  controlling  purposes  and  soundness  of  the 
Republican  party. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

THE  CIPHER  DISPATCHES 

DURING  the  first  session  of  the  Forty-fifth  Congress,  which 
lasted  until  June  20,  1878,  no  measures  of  great  and  gen 
eral  importance,  apart  from  those  relating  to  the  public  finances, 
became  laws.  But  near  the  end  of  the  session  an  echo  of  the 
disputed  election  contest  was  heard,  which  renewed  for  a  time 
the  partisan  passions  which  had  stirred  the  country  during  the 
winter  of  1876-77,  and  which  the  better  sentiment  of  all  parties 
had  hoped  that  the  action  of  the  Electoral  Commission  had 
permanently  allayed.  It  was  too  much  to  expect,  however,  that 
the  more  radical  Democratic  politicians,  incensed  at  the  decision 
of  the  commission,  should  not  seek  to  keep  alive  in  the  breasts 
of  Democratic  voters  the  feeling  that  they  had  been  the  victims 
of  injustice  and  injury.  Mr.  Tilden  himself,  who  doubtless  ex 
pected  a  renomination  in  1880,  had  no  thought  of  allowing  the 
"fraud  issue"  to  sink  out  of  sight.  In  a  speech  from  the  steps  of 
his  house  in  Gramercy  Park,  New  York,  on  his  return  from  a  trip 
to  Europe,  in  October,  1877,  he  had  manifested  great  bitter 
ness  of  spirit  at  the  frustration  of  his  hopes.  The  cause  he 
represented,  he  grandiloquently  said,  "embraced  the  largest 
and  holiest  interests  of  humanity";  but  it  had  suffered  defeat 
through  the  perpetration  of  "a  great  fraud  which  the  American 
people  have  not  condoned,  and  never  will  condone  —  never, 
never,  never."  Mr.  Tilden's  close  political  friends  were  equally 
unreconciled ;  equally  assertive  of  the  righteousness  of  the  Demo 
cratic  cause;  equally  confident  of  popular  vindication  when  the 
voters  should  again  have  opportunity  to  express  their  senti 
ments.  The  Democratic  press  rang  the  changes  upon  "  the  great 
fraud,"  with  constant  iteration,  in  all  the  ways  that  journalistic 
ingenuity  or  partisan  malevolence  could  suggest.  In  this  in 
cendiary  activity  the  most  persistent  and  malignant  newspaper 
detractor  of  the  President  was  the  New  York  Sun.  Whether 


THE  CIPHER  DISPATCHES  143 

the  Democratic  politicians  and  editors,  in  the  policy  they  were 
now  pursuing,  had  anything  definite  in  mind  more  than  this,  to 
make  party  capital  for  use  in  the  approaching  congressional 
election  and  in  the  next  Presidential  contest,  is  not  absolutely 
certain,  though  widely  prevalent  contemporary  opinion,  as  we 
shall  see,  —  which  was  by  no  means  confined  to  Republicans,  — 
found  abundant  reasons  for  charging  them  with  revolutionary 
designs. 

Already  in  Louisiana  efforts  had  been  made  to  prove  that  the 
members  of  the  Returning  Board  had  been  guilty  of  crime  in 
canvassing  the  vote.  It  had  been  the  understanding  of  the  Presi 
dent,  when  he  left  Louisiana  free  of  federal  interference  in 
settling  its  state  election  controversies,  that  political  bygones 
should  be  ignored;  that  in  the  interest  of  amity  and  general  good 
feeling  the  now  dominant  party  would  refrain  from  partisan 
reprisal  or  anything  that  savored  of  political  prosecution,  being 
content  to  establish  a  new  era  of  just  and  honest  administration. 
The  voluntary  pledges  of  the  Louisiana  Legislature  and  the 
promises  of  Governor  Nicholls,  doubtless  given  in  good  faith, 
had  justified  this  understanding.  The  conservative  elements  of 
the  Louisiana  people  were  undoubtedly  favorable  to  this  wise 
policy.  But  there  were  many  men  of  less  temperate  quality, 
characterized  as  Bourbons,  who  refused  to  be  conciliated.  In 
July,  1877,  criminal  proceedings  were  begun  at  New  Orleans 
against  the  four  members  of  the  Returning  Board  on  the  charge 
that  they  had  uttered  forged  and  counterfeit  returns  from  the 
Parish  of  Vernon,  greatly  increasing  the  vote  for  the  Hayes 
electors  and  greatly  diminishing  the  vote  for  the  Tilden  electors. 
One  member  of  the  board,  Thomas  C.  Anderson,  was  put  on 
trial  in  the  following  January,  was  found  guilty  by  the  jury 
(which  recommended  mercy),  and  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary 
for  two  years.  Effort  was  made  unavailingly  to  have  the  case 
transferred  to  the  federal  jurisdiction.  It  was  manifest  by  the 
course  of  the  proceedings  and  the  temper  of  public  sentiment  in 
New  Orleans  that  the  trial  was  induced  by  a  spirit  of  political 
retaliation  and  that  conviction  was  a  foregone  conclusion.  The 
evidence  failed  to  prove  that  Anderson  had  anything  to  do  with 
altering  the  figures.  At  once  there  were  demands  on  Governor 
Nicholls  to  pardon  Anderson.  It  is  altogether  likely  that  he 


144  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

would  have  done  so.1  But  Anderson  immediately  appealed  to 
the  Supreme  Court,  and  on  March  18  the  court  set  aside  the  ver 
dict  and  discharged  the  prisoner.  Chief  Justice  Manning  in  the 
ruling  opinion  held  virtually  that  the  offense  charged,  if  com 
mitted,  was  not  made  criminal  by  the  existing  law.  Under  this 
decision,  which  brought  dismay  and  chagrin  to  the  Bourbons, 
further  prosecution  was  seen  to  be  useless  and  the  cases  against 
the  other  members  of  the  Board  were  dropped.2  The  trial  of 
Anderson,  however,  afforded  the  Democratic  papers  oppor 
tunity  to  discuss  anew  the  Louisiana  election  muddle  and  to 
pay  their  respects  to  the  characters  of  some  of  the  men  that  had 
been  engaged  in  its  settlement.  It  had,  of  course,  to  be  acknowl 
edged  that  not  all  the  Louisiana  Republican  election  officers  and 
agents  were  men  that  had  borne  unsullied  reputations.  But, 
whatever  reputations  they  had  earned  by  their  previous  lives, 
persons  of  sober  judgment  who  were  informed  of  the  facts  of  the 
election,  could  have  slight  hesitation  in  believing  that  in  their 
canvass  of  the  votes  of  1876  these  men  had  not  only  not  exceeded 
the  discretionary  powers  of  their  office,  but  had  simply  per 
formed  their  manifest  duty  under  the  law  and  had  reached  the 
right  and  equitable  conclusion. 

Besides  the  general  feeling  among  Democrats  of  dissatisfaction 
and  chagrin  at  their  failure  before  the  Electoral  Commission, 

1  "The  topic  of  interest  now,  next  to  the  Silver  Bill,  is  the  Anderson  prosecu 
tion  in  New  Orleans.   I  put  it  as  a  simple  question  of  good  faith  —  of  honor  on 
the  part  of  Louisiana.  Suppose  all  of  the  facts  proved  against  Anderson  to  have 
existed  —  but  suppose  the  Returning  Board  had  counted  the  State  for  Tilden. 
Would  there  have  been  any  prosecution?   Nobody  believes  there  would.   Is  it 
not  a  clear  case,  then,  within  the  resolutions  of  the  Nicholls  Legislature,  and  the 
letter  of  Governor  Nicholls?   Believing  the  affirmative  I  rely  upon,  I  trust  the 
honor  of  Governor  Nicholls."   (Diary,  February  15,  1878.) 

2  "The  Returning  Board  prosecutions  are  ended  by  the  decision  of  the  Su 
preme  Court  of  Louisiana.   No  doubt  the  court  found  legal  grounds  for  its  de 
cision.   But  the  favorable  fact  is  that  the  court  followed  the  best  public  opinion 
of  Louisiana  in  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  the  Bourbons.  The  ruffian  class,  the 
implacabies,  and  the  press  were  for  the  severest  punishment  —  determined  to 
persecute  the  members  of  the  Board  to  the  bitter  end.  For  the  first  time  the 
better  classes  have  overruled  the  violent.   Pacification  begins  to  tell."    (Diary, 
March  21,  1878.) 

The  same  day  Mr.  Hayes  wrote  to  Mrs.  Hayes:  "The  end  of  the  Returning 
Board  persecution  is  very  welcome  to  friends  of  the  Southern  policy,  and  by  no 
means  satisfactory  to  the  implacabies.  For  the  first  time  in  the  South  the  public 
opinion  of  the  better  elements  has  overcome  the  wishes  of  the  ruffian  class." 


THE  CIPHER  DISPATCHES  145 

several  specific  circumstances  prepared  the  way  for  the  action 
of  the  Democratic  Congressmen  who  were  determined  to  re 
open  the  case  in  the  effort  to  prove  that  the  decisions  of  the 
Returning  Boards  in  Florida  and  Louisiana  in  favor  of  the  Re 
publican  electors  had  been  procured  by  fraud,  or  at  least  by 
corrupt  influences.  In  December,  1877,  William  E.  Chandler, 
member  of  the  Republican  National  Committee  from  New 
Hampshire,  who  had  been  most  active  in  the  campaign  of  1876, 
who  had  had  charge  of  the  Republican  cause  before  the  Return 
ing  Board  of  Florida,  and  had  assisted  the  Republican  counsel 
in  preparing  the  Florida  case  for  presentation  before  the  Elec 
toral  Commission,  published  a  letter  to  the  Republicans  of  New 
Hampshire,  on  the  eve  of  their  state  convention,  hi  condemna 
tion  of  the  President's  Southern  policy,  which  attracted  wide 
attention.1  Mr.  Chandler  was  thoroughly  convinced  that  the 
Republicans  were  fairly  entitled  to  the  state  officers  in  the  three 
disputed  Southern  States,  and  he  was  furiously  indignant  at 
President  Hayes  for  not  recognizing  Chamberlain  and  Packard 
as  the  rightful  Governors  of  South  Carolina  and  Louisiana  and 
then  sustaining  them  by  the  power  of  the  Federal  Government. 
In  his  letter,  which  with  other  documents  was  subsequently 
printed  in  pamphlet  form,  Mr.  Chandler  charged  that  "assur 
ances  were  freely  and  forcibly  given  by  Mr.  Senator  Sherman 
and  his  associates"  to  the  Returning  Board  of  Louisiana,  that 
"they  themselves  should  be  protected  from  evil  consequences" 
if  they  performed  the  "extraordinary  even  if  justifiable  work,  in 
the  face  of  an  armed  and  infuriated  Democracy,"  of  correcting 
the  returns;  and  that  "Mr.  Stanley  Matthews  declared  ...  on 
more  than  one  occasion  that  Hayes  and  Packard  should  stand 
or  fall  together."  But  "almost  the  first  act  of  the  new  Adminis 
tration  was  to  fulfil  a  bargain  that  had  been  made  during  the 
Presidential  count,  by  which,  if  Hayes  should  be  President,  the 
lawful  governments  of  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina  were  to 
be  abandoned,  and  the  mob-governments  in  these  States  were 
to  be  recognized  and  established."  And  much  more  to  the  same 
effect,  with  adroit  array  of  circumstances  and  skilful  special 

1  In  spite  of  the  letter  and  in  spite  of  a  speech  of  similar  intent  by  Mr. 
Chandler  before  the  State  Committee,  the  New  Hampshire  convention  adopted 
a  resolution  commending  the  President's  course. 


146  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

pleading,  which  ignored  conflicting  facts  of  common  knowledge 
and  convincing  force. 

The  virtual  charge  was  that  the  Louisiana  Returning  Board, 
while  simply  doing  its  unquestionable  duty,  had  done  so  only 
as  the  result  of  a  bargain  made  with  it  by  "  Mr.  Senator  Sherman 
and  his  associates";  and  that  the  President  had  then  failed 
to  carry  out  this  "bargain,"  but  had  carried  out  a  subsequent 
"bargain"  of  a  very  different  character,  "made  during  the 
Presidential  count."  How  baseless  the  latter  accusation  was 
has  already  been  shown.1  And  now  Mr.  Sherman  instantly 
denied  that  he  had  any  part  in  any  bargaining  either  express  or 
implied.  His  word  was  sufficient  with  all  reasonable  men  to 
carry  conviction.  But  the  Democratic  politicians  and  papers, 
eager  to  seize  any  chance  or  to  use  any  pretext  to  keep  the 
"great  fraud  issue"  before  the  public  mind,  treated  the  Chandler 
"revelations"  as  matter  worthy  of  the  most  serious  considera 
tion;  and  suggestions  began  to  be  made  by  the  more  radical 
that  a  congressional  inquiry,  looking  to  an  attack  on  the  Presi 
dent's  title  to  his  office,  should  be  instituted.  Intimations  were 
made  even  that  such  an  attack  would  not  be  disagreeable  to 
certain  of  the  Republican  irreconcilables  who  disapproved  of  the 
Southern  policy  and  who  were  exasperated  to  the  point  of  anger 
at  the  President's  persistent  adhesion  to  civil  service  reform  and 
anti-spoils  principles.  But  the  great  body  of  sensible  opinion 
deprecated  any  reopening  of  the  electoral  dispute.  The  question 
had  been  settled  by  the  instrumentality  specially  created,  with 
the  aid  and  sanction  of  both  parties  acting  in  patriotic  unison; 
and  whatever  any  individual  might  think  of  the  propriety  or 
equity  of  the  settlement,  the  settlement  itself  should  be  regarded 
as  absolutely  final.  Any  attempt  now  to  impugn  its  validity 
could  only  be  attended  with  mischievous  consequences;  any 
thought  of  seeking  to  reverse  it  would  be  a  breach  of  good  faith, 
tantamount  to  purposes  of  revolution. 

The  Democratic  Legislature  of  Maryland,  under  the  leader 
ship  of  Mr.  Montgomery  Blair,  was  ready  for  this  revolutionary 
attempt.  Early  in  January,  Mr.  Blair  introduced  in  the  House  of 
Delegates  a  long  memorial  addressed  "to  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives  in  Congress  assembled,"  asserting  among 
1  See  concluding  paragraphs  of  chapter  xxviu. 


THE  CIPHER  DISPATCHES  147 

other  things  that  the  act  creating  the  Electoral  Commission  pro 
vided  that  no  decision  under  that  act  should  preclude  a  judicial 
decision  of  the  question;  that  the  obvious  intent  was  to  assure 
the  people  that  the  question  should  be  determined  on  its  merits 
by  the  proper  judicial  tribunal  if  the  commission  held  itself  in 
competent  to  render  such  a  decision;  that  the  commission  had  so 
held,  and  that,  — 

In  consequence  of  this  decision,  the  present  incumbent  of  the  Presi 
dential  chair  was  seated  by  virtue  of  returns  which  were  notoriously  false 
and  fraudulent,  and  were  so  in  effect  admitted  by  Justice  Strong,  whose 
vote  seated  him,  and  also  by  the  incumbent  himself,  in  disregarding 
those  returns  as  respects  state  officers  whose  titles  to  office  were  also 
based  upon  them,  and  were  in  every  respect  identical  with  his  own. 

Wherefore  the  memorialists  prayed  "that  needful  legislation  be 
adopted  to  ascertain  judicially  who  was  elected  President  at  the 
recent  election,  and  to  give  effect  to  the  will  of  the  people."  A 
motion  to  lay  the  memorial  on  the  table  was  overwhelmingly 
voted  down;  whereupon  it  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Federal  Relations,  in  whose  hands  it  remained  for  a  month.  But 
the  memorial  afforded  further  occasion  for  public  dispute  and 
gave  some  indication  of  the  trend  of  thought  among  the  irrecon 
cilable  Democrats.  Finally  the  committee  reported  the  memorial, 
advising  sensibly  against  its  adoption.  Mr.  Blair  then  moved  a 
series  of  resolutions  as  a  substitute  for  the  report  in  which  it  was 
declared  that  Congress,  "by  failing  to  supply  the  legislation 
required  to  enforce  the  judicial  investigation  of  this  fraud,  .  .  . 
sanctions  and  invites  its  repetition  hi  the  future  and  endangers 
the  peace  of  the  country  and  the  stability  of  republican  institu 
tions";  and  goodness  knows  what  else.  Only  let  Congress  pass 
David  Dudley  Field's  proposed  quo  warranlo  bill,  urged  Mr. 
Blair,  in  advocating  the  adoption  of  his  substitute,  and  "it  would 
not  require  sixty  days  to  give  effect  to  the  will  of  the  people." 
"There  is  not  a  disputed  fact  nor  a  doubtful  point  of  law  involved 
in  the  proceedings  under  Mr.  Field's  bill  to  seat  Mr.  Tilden.  His 
political  adversaries  now  desire  to  give  him  the  seat."  After  a 
long  debate  the  substitute  for  the  report  was  adopted  and  then 
on  second  thought  the  resolutions  were  rejected  by  a  small 
majority.  Not  cast  down  by  these  rebuffs,  however,  the  bold 
and  pertinacious  Mr.  Blair,  flattered,  no  doubt,  by  the  sudden 


148  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

conspicuity  which  his  valiant  efforts  in  behalf  of  Mr.  Tilden's 
lost  cause  had  given  his  name  in  the  public  prints,  presently 
offered  a  new  resolution  bearing  on  the  subject,  which  was  finally 
adopted.  This  instructed  the  Attorney-General  of  the  State,  in 
case  Congress  passed  the  necessary  act,  "to  exhibit  a  bill  in  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  on  behalf  of  the  State  of 
Maryland  .  .  .  setting  forth  the  fact  that  due  effect  has  not  been 
given  to  the  electoral  vote  cast  by  this  State  on  the  6th  day  of 
December,  1876,  by  reason  of  fraudulent  returns  made  from 
other  States  and  allowed  to  be  counted  provisionally  by  the  Elec 
toral  Commission,  and  subject  to  judicial  revision,  and  praying 
said  court  to  make  the  revision  contemplated  by  the  act  estab 
lishing  said  commission."  This  resolution  was  presented  in  Con 
gress  by  Mr.  Swann,  of  Maryland,  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  the  Judiciary,  and  ordered  printed.  Like  Mr.  Blair's  previous 
performances  it  was  the  subject  of  wide  comment. 

And  constantly  about  Washington  and  in  the  newspapers  the 
reports  became  more  frequent  and  more  definite  to  the  effect  that 
the  Democratic  leaders  in  Congress  were  preparing  in  some  way 
to  reopen  the  Presidential  controversy  and  attack  the  title  of 
Mr.  Hayes,  which  the  country  had  been  glad  to  believe  was  finally 
closed  and  irrevocably  settled  by  the  Electoral  Commission  and 
the  Forty-fourth  Congress.  These  rumors  caused  uneasiness 
and  alarm  in  the  minds  of  sensible  people.  The  conservative 
influences  of  the  country  were  utterly  opposed  to  any  movement 
calculated  to  disturb  existing  conditions.  The  President's  title 
was  impregnable  and  unassailable.  It  had  been  established  by 
resort  to  special  and  extraordinary  methods,  adopted  by  the 
concurrence  of  the  overwhelming  majority  of  Congress  of  both 
parties.  These  methods  had  been  approved  and  applauded  by 
universal  public  sentiment,  and  the  result  attained  thereby  had 
been  accepted  by  the  whole  country  as  absolutely  conclusive. 
To  challenge  that  result  now  would  be  nothing  less  than  revolu 
tionary;  would  plunge  the  country  into  chaos  and  would  become 
a  precedent  for  the  future  whose  evil  consequences  no  finite  intel 
ligence  could  foresee.  Not  one  single  good  purpose  was  to  be 
served  by  any  new  investigation,  if  that  was  all  that  was  con 
templated,  of  the  facts  of  the  election  in  the  disputed  States. 
The  investigations  made  by  committees  of  Congress  in  the  weeks 


THE  CIPHER  DISPATCHES  149 

preceding  the  adjudication  of  the  Electoral  Commission  had 
been  exhaustive.  What  the  country  needed  now  from  Congress 
was  rest  from  partisan  recrimination  and  wise  efforts  to  aid  in  the 
restoration  of  prosperity  and  the  development  of  our  commercial 
and  industrial  resources. 

These  considerations,  in  which  conservative  Democrats  in  and 
out  of  Congress  concurred,  did  not  shake  the  determination  of 
the  more  radical  Democratic  leaders,  who  were  gradually  shaping 
their  plans,  becoming  in  the  course  of  events  more  and  more 
sanguine  in  their  anticipation  of  partisan  benefits  to  be  attained. 
Late  in  April  "confessions"  of  S.  B.  McLin,  of  the  Florida  Re 
turning  Board,  and  of  minor  election  officers  of  Florida,  especially 
one  Dennis,  appeared.  Both  these  men  had  been  disappointed  in 
their  office-seeking  efforts.  The  former  had  been  appointed  Chief 
Justice  of  New  Mexico,  but  had  failed  of  confirmation  by  reason 
of  the  opposition  of  Senator  Conover.  The  latter  had  received  a 
minor  place  in  the  Treasury  Department  and  had  been  dismissed 
for  inattention  to  his  duties.  Both  in  consequence  had  been 
pricked  in  conscience  and  then  struck  out  in  blind  anger  at  the 
President.  McLin  was  now  convinced,  he  said,  that  Florida's 
vote  should  have  been  counted  for  Tilden,  though  he  wished  it 
understood  that  he  had  acted  conscientiously  when  he  officially 
declared  otherwise.  But,  he  feebly  proceeded:  "Looking  back 
now  to  that  time,  I  feel  that  there  was  a  combination  of  influences 
that  must  have  operated  most  powerfully  in  blinding  my  judg 
ment  and  swaying  my  action."  Though  "I  cannot  say  how  far 
my  action  may  have  been  influenced  by  the  intense  excitement 
that  prevailed  around  me,  or  how  far  my  partisan  zeal  may  have 
led  me  into  error;  neither  can  I  say  how  far  my  course  was  influ 
enced  by  the  promises  made  by  Governor  Noyes,  that  if  Mr. 
Hayes  became  President  I  should  be  rewarded.  Certainly  these 
influences  must  have  had  a  strong  control  over  my  judgment  and 
action."  All  of  which  might  be  interesting  as  a  psychological 
study  of  himself  by  a  disappointed  office-seeker,  embittered  at 
his  lack  of  success  and  eager  for  revenge,  but  the  very  state  of 
mind  which  it  disclosed  was  enough  with  sensible  folk  to  discredit 
his  confession  of  official  turpitude.  It  was  accepted,  however,  by 
the  radical  Democrats  as  evidence  of  prodigious  importance.  And 
so,  too,  were  the  "revelations  "  that  were  being  peddled  about  by 


150  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

James  E.  Anderson,  ex-supervisor  of  the  Parish  of  East  Feliciana, 
Louisiana,  also  a  disappointed  and  discredited  office-seeker.  He 
was  reputed  to  be  fairly  bursting  with  information  implicating 
Secretary  Sherman  in  a  conspiracy  to  control  the  count  of  votes 
in  Louisiana. 

So,  after  much  caucusing  among  the  Democrats  of  the  House 
and  consultations,  as  it  was  believed  at  the  time,  with  Mr. 
Tilden,  a  resolution,  with  numerous  preambles,  demanding  an 
investigation  was  formulated,  and  Clarkson  N.  Potter,  of  New 
York,  was  designated  by  the  caucus  to  present  it  to  the  House  as 
a  question  of  privilege.  This  he  did  on  May  13.1  The  first  pre 
amble  cited  the  Blair  resolution  of  the  Maryland  Legislature; 
the  second  referred  to  the  McLin  affidavit  accusing  "Edward  F. 
Noyes,  now  a  minister  for  this  Government  to  France,"  of  im 
proper  conduct;  the  third  dwelt  on  the  alleged  "conspiracy"  of 
Republicans  which  resulted  in  the  rejection  by  the  Returning 
Board  of  Louisiana  of  the  returns  from  the  Feliciana  Parishes, 
to  whose  consummation  the  "Honorable  John  Sherman,  now 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,"  was  a  party; 
and  in  the  fourth  this  climax  was  reached:  — 

1  Mr.  Hayes,  in  his  diary,  May  14,  writes  of  this  action  in  these  words:  — 

"Various  'confessions'  and  statements  lately  made  by  McLin  and  Dennis, 
of  Florida,  and  others  of  Louisiana,  as  to  frauds  in  the  elections,  have  caused  the 
Tilden  Democrats,  aided  by  implacable  Republicans  of  the  Chandler  sort,  to 
threaten  investigations.  Yesterday  Mr.  Potter  offered  the  resolution  to  go  into 
it  in  the  House.  It  is  a  partisan  proceeding  for  merely  partisan  ends.  If  the 
Republicans  manage  well  their  side  of  the  controversy,  I  suspect  it  will  damage 
its  authors.  It  should  be  opposed:  — 

"1.  As  partial  and  narrow.  If  investigation  is  to  be  had,  it  should  embrace 
all  the  questions  which  have  been  raised  touching  the  fairness  and  legality  of  the 
elections. 

"2.  It  is  revolutionary;  it  looks  to  overthrowing  the  solemn  adjudication 
of  the  commission  as  confirmed  by  Congress.  Herein  should  be  given  a  full 
history  of  the  origin,  purpose,  and  understanding  as  to  the  commission  —  the 
action  of  Congress,  etc.,  etc. 

"3.  It  will  disturb  the  business  of  the  country. 

"4.  It  interrupts  the  course  of  pacification  between  the  sections  and  races, 
and  revives  sectional  strife  and  deepens  the  color  line. 

"5.  It  is  done  by  Tammany  —  by  the  New  York  rings.  It  is  to  continue  the 
rule  of  New  York  in  the  Democratic  party.  Trace  this  power  in  the  nomina 
tions  of  1864,  1868,  1872,  and  1876  in  the  Democratic  party. 

"6.  It  is  not  in  the  interest  of  the  South.  They  want  peace,  education,  im 
provements,  and  immigration. 

"7.  It  is  not  in  the  interest  of  the  country." 


THE  CIPHER  DISPATCHES  151 

WHEREAS,  The  gravity  of  these  charges,  the  nature  of  the  evidence 
upon  which  they  are  reported  to  be  based,  and  the  official  dignity  and 
position  of  the  persons  named  in  connection  with  the  said  frauds  make  it 
proper  the  same  should  be  inquired  into  to  the  end  that  the  honor  of 
the  nation  may  be  vindicated  and  the  truth  as  to  such  elections  made 
known. 

Therefore  the  resolution  declared  for  the  appointment  of  a 
select  committee  of  eleven  members  "to  inquire  into  the  allega 
tion  as  to  the  conduct"  of  Messrs.  Sherman  and  Noyes  in 
relation  to  the  Louisiana  and  Florida  count,  and  "into  all  the 
facts"  which  the  committee  might  think  pertinent  regarding 
the  canvass  of  the  votes  in  those  two  States.  The  Republicans 
contended  that  such  a  resolution  could  not  be  introduced  as  a 
question  of  privilege,  unless,  as  Mr.  Garfield  urged,  it  was  "a  pro 
ceeding  intended  to  pave  the  way  for  an  impeachment"  of  the 
President.  "If  it  was  a  proposition  by  the  House  to  raise  and 
determine  the  question  of  the  title  of  the  present  Chief  Magis 
trate,  that  question  had  been  determined  by  the  joint  action  of 
the  two  houses  of  Congress,  and  it  was  as  much  beyond  the  reach 
of  this  House  as  the  election  of  Grant  or  Washington."  Mr. 
Potter  "absolutely  and  positively  refused  to  declare  any  such 
purpose;  his  purpose  was  only  to  inquire."  But  he  did  not  as 
absolutely  and  positively  deny  that  "such  a  purpose"  might  be 
implied  in  the  consequences  of  the  inquiry,  as  was  widely  charged 
in  contemporary  comment.  And  Mr.  Speaker  Randall's  care 
fully  prepared  decision  sustaining  the  Democratic  contention 
gave  added  basis  for  such  a  charge.  "A  higher  privilege,"  he 
said,  "  than  the  one  here  involved,  and  broadly  and  directly  pre 
sented,  as  to  the  rightful  occupancy  of  the  chief  executive  chair 
of  the  Government,  .  .  .  the  Chair  is  unable  to  conceive."  The 
Republicans  appealed  from  the  decision,  but  were  outvoted. 

Thereupon  the  Republicans  1  made  repeated  efforts  to  broaden 
the  scope  of  the  investigation,  so  that  inquiry  should  be  made 
into  the  efforts  of  the  Democrats  to  buy  one  of  the  electors  of 
Oregon,  as  revealed  by  the  cipher  dispatches,  which  the  Senate 
committee  of  the  year  before  had  unearthed.  But  the  Demo 
crats  refused  to  make  any  change  in  their  programme,  thus 

1  Certain  of  the  Democrats  were  in  favor  of  making  the  inquiry  general,  but 
they  were  overruled  by  the  caucus. 


152  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

indicating  that  they  were  bent  upon  a  purely  partisan  inquiry.1 
The  Republicans  then  abstained  from  voting,  thus  breaking 
the  quorum  (the  famous  Reed  device  of  counting  a  quorum  not 
yet  having  been  evolved),  and  it  was  not  until  May  17  that  the 
Democrats  were  able  to  pass  the  resolution.  The  Republican 
Congressional  Committee  at  once  issued  an  address  to  the  coun 
try,  declaring  that  the  resolution  was  intended  "to  lay  the 
foundation  for  a  revolutionary  expulsion  of  the  President  from 
his  office."  2  It  continued:  — 

This  is  the  culmination  of  a  plot  which  has  been  on  foot  from  the 
day  that  Hayes  and  Wheeler  were  constitutionally  declared  elected.  It 
made  its  first  public  appearance  in  the  resolutions  of  the  last  Democratic 
House,  adopted  at  the  close  of  the  session,  declaring  that  Tilden  and 
Hendricks  were  elected.  Tilden  and  Hendricks  subsequently  made 
similar  public  declarations  themselves.  ...  In  other  words,  they  [the 
Democrats]  intend  after  hearing  suborned  evidence  to  bring  in  a  verdict 
that  Hayes  is  a  usurper  and  that  he  shall  not  remain  in  office.  .  .  .  The 
Republicans  offered  to  favor  the  fullest  investigation  into  all  alleged 
frauds  by  whichever  party  charged  to  have  been  committed,  but  the 
Democracy  pursued  its  course  shamelessly  and  relentlessly  and  stifled 
all  inquiry  into  attempts  at  bribery  in  Oregon,  South  Carolina,  and 
Louisiana,  and  violence  in  several  of  the  States.  Neither  amendment  nor 
debate  was  allowed.  The  inexorable  previous  question  wras  applied  and 
enforced.  This  scheme  if  pursued  —  and  it  is  now  fully  inaugurated  — • 
can  only  have  the  effect  of  further  paralyzing  business  of  all  kinds  and 
preventing  the  restoration  of  confidence,  which  seemed  promising,  cast 
ing  a  gloom  over  every  household  and  bringing  our  nation  into  reproach 
before  the  civilized  world. 

1  Further,  it  was  known  that  the  Democratic  caucus  had  rejected  an  amend 
ment  to  the  Potter  resolution,  proposed  by  Mr.  Young,  of  Tennessee,  and  sup 
ported  by  several  of  the  more  conservative  members,  especially  from  the  South, 
which  read:  "But  it  is  not  intended  by  this  proceeding  to  disturb  the  present 
Chief  Magistrate  in  the  occupancy  of  his  office,  nor  to  impair  public  confidence 
in  the  policy  he  has  inaugurated  toward  the  Southern  States." 

2  That  Mr.  Hayes  took  the  same  view  of  the  purpose  of  the  investigation  is 
intimated  by  the  following  entry  in  the  diary  of  May  19:  — 

"The  House  of  Representatives  has  ordered  an  investigation  of  the  elections 
in  Florida  and  Louisiana.  The  resolutions  adopted  accuse  Governor  Noyes  and 
Secretary  Sherman  of  crookedness.  It  will  do  no  more  than  raise  a  dust  —  throw 
dirt  and  the  like,  unless  it  is  intended,  as  I  seriously  suspect,  to  lay  a  foundation 
for  a  revolution.  There  is  a  purpose  with  the  real  authors  to  reverse  the  result  of 
the  last  election.  If  they  are  sustained  in  the  elections  there  is  danger.  It  is 
another  rebellion! 

"Look  up  all  letters  from  Noyes,  Matthews,  Chandler,  to  see  the  exact  condi 
tion  of  my  correspondence.  I  neither  knew  nor  suspected  fraud  on  our  side. 
The  danger  was  fraud  by  our  adversaries." 


THE  CIPHER  DISPATCHES  153 

This  address  fairly  reflected  the  dominant  tone  of  Republican 
thought.  Indeed,  one  effect  of  the  Democratic  methods  in  passing 
the  resolution  was  to  bring  the  Republicans  into  closer  harmony 
than  they  had  been  in  support  of  the  Administration.  On  the 
other  hand,  while  the  prevailing  sentiment  among  the  Democrats 
favored  the  investigation,  there  were  murmurs  of  disapproval 
among  the  wiser  leaders  of  the  party,  and  some  of  these  openly 
condemned  the  proceeding.  Alexander  H.  Stephens  denounced  it 
repeatedly  "as  most  unwise,  most  unfortunate,  and  most  mis 
chievous";  and  he  sagaciously  predicted  that  the  affair  would 
"prove  in  the  end  either  a  contemptible  farce  or  a  horrible 
tragedy."  1  How  this  wise  old  statesman  must  have  rejoiced 
at  the  fulfilment  of  his  prophecy,  even  while  he  lamented  the 
folly  of  his  headstrong  fellow  partisans  who  would  not  heed  his 
experienced  advice! 

The  indications  of  popular  alarm  at  the  threatened  assault  on 
the  White  House  were  so  numerous  and  the  outcry  of  disappro 
bation  so  distinct,  that  after  a  few  days  Mr.  Potter  sought  in  a 
long  public  letter  to  justify  the  peremptory  action  of  the  Demo 
cratic  majority  in  Congress  and  to  allay  the  public  apprehension 
regarding  the  purpose  in  view.  That  purpose,  he  declared,  was 
"to  ascertain  the  facts,  so  that  if  frauds  be  established,  a  repeti 
tion  of  such  frauds  may  be  prevented,  and  if  not,  to  clear  up 
the  general  belief  throughout  the  country  that  there  were  such 
frauds."  He  himself  had  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  the  Demo 
crats  were  cheated  out  of  the  Presidency.  "  The  whole  thing  was, 
as  I  think,  a  gigantic  game,  in  which  we  held  the  cards  and  the 
Republicans  bluffed  us."  The  President's  title  rested  upon  the 
determination  of  the  Electoral  Commission  to  which  "every  one 
submitted."  That  was  true  enough,  but  "  if  now  it  should  appear 
that  there  was  fraud,  which  palpably  affected  the  electoral  vote, 
and  which  the  commission  did  not  notice,  and  if  a  legal  remedy  ex 
ists  for  correcting  the  error, ...  or  Congress  should  hereafter  .  .  . 
provide  one,  why  should  the  legal  determination  thereafter  had 
produce  disturbance?"  "I  do  not  mean,"  he  said  again,  "that  I 
expect  the  investigation  to  be  followed  by  either  legal  or  con 
gressional  action.  What,  if  anything,  should  be  done  because  of 
the  inquiry  must  depend  on  the  results  of  the  inquiry.  But  I 
1  Letter  of  May  28  to  the  Washington  Post. 


154  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

do  mean  that  whatever  action,  if  any,  should  follow  the  investi 
gation,  such  action  can  neither  disturb  the  order  nor  the  pros 
perity  of  the  country." 

It  was  clear,  therefore,  from  this  careful  balancing  of  phrases, 
that  an  effort  to  impugn  the  President's  title  to  his  office  and  to 
right  "the  great  wrong"  was  entertained  by  the  Democratic 
leaders  as  a  possible  if  not  probable  outcome  of  the  investigation. 
Only,  they  insisted,  that  any  action  they  might  take  involved 
"not  the  slightest  chance  of  revolution  or  disturbance."  Don't 
be  alarmed,  they  said,  in  effect;  we  may  try  to  oust  the  President 
by  some  means  or  other;  but  there  will  be  no  disturbance  —  take 
our  word  for  it !  It  can  easily  be  understood  that  such  talk  from 
the  leader  of  the  Democratic  investigators  was  not  calculated  to 
reassure  the  public  mind. 

And  on  the  same  day,  May  28,  as  it  happened,  there  was 
published  also  an  open  letter  on  the  situation  from  Postmaster- 
General  Key.  It  was  addressed  to  the  Southern  people  and  was 
written  in  answer  to  many  private  letters  received  by  Mr.  Key 
from  Southern  men  disavowing  sympathy  with  any  attack  on 
the  President's  right  to  his  office.  Mr.  Key  was  convinced,  he 
wrote,  by  the  circumstances  attending  the  passage  of  the  Potter 
resolution  and  by  the  declarations  of  Democratic  politicians  and 
journalists,  "that  if  both  houses  of  the  Forty-sixth  Congress  are 
Democratic,  the  majority  intend  to  oust  President  Hayes  and 
inaugurate  Mr.  Tilden."  But  Mr.  Hayes's  "title  was  settled 
irrevocably  by  the  Forty -fourth  Congress";  the  Forty -fifth 
Congress  had  no  right  to  dispute  his  election;  and  "the  Forty- 
sixth  Congress  will  have  no  more  right  to  ignore  him  and  recog 
nize  his  defeated  contestant,  Mr.  Tilden,  than  Mr.  Hayes  would 
have  to  send  a  file  of  soldiers  to  the  House  of  Representatives  to 
unseat  a  Democrat  whom  he  might  consider  to  have  been  wrong 
fully  seated  or  fraudulently  elected."  Mr.  Key  reminded  his 
readers  that  it  was  the  patriotism  of  Southern  members  that 
compelled  the  completion  of  the  count  of  the  electoral  vote  when 
filibusters  sought  to  prevent  it.  Now  the  Southern  Representa 
tives  had  yielded  to  caucus  dictation  in  defiance  of  Southern 
sentiment.  Let  the  Southern  people  therefore  "  afford  a  crowning 
evidence  of  their  renewed  devotion  to  the  -Union  ...  by  sending 
Representatives  to  the  Forty-sixth  Congress  pledged  to  resist 


THE  CIPHER  DISPATCHES  155 

at  all  hazards  the  revolutionary  schemes  of  the  mischief-makers  " 
which  could  not  "be  carried  out  without  a  bloody  civil  war."  l 
This  letter  made  a  profound  impression  on  the  public  mind  and 
was  furiously  resented  by  the  Democratic  press.2 

1  It  seems  not  unlikely  that  Mr.  Key's  letter  was  submitted  to  the  President 
before  it  was  given  to  the  public.   At  any  rate,  that  it  correctly  reflected  Mr. 
Hayes's  own  views  is  proved  by  the  diary,  May  31,  which  says:  "The  event  now 
on  the  scene  is  the  investigation  as  to  the  election,  looking  to  ousting  the  Re 
publicans  from  power  by  revolutionary  proceedings.   My  views  are  well  shown 
by  Judge  Key's  letter,  Alexander  -Stephens's  letter,  and  an  interview  somewhat 
inaccurately  reported  by  G.  A.  Townsend.   I  never  authorize  interviews.   This 
one  I  did  not  suspect  at  the  time.  Talking  with  Judge  Wills  on  the  subject,  while 
having  a  reception,  Mr.  Townsend  stepped  up,  and,  continuing  the  conversa 
tion,  got  up  the  so-called  interview  out  of  the  items  obtained  from  me."  —  In 
the  interview  referred  to  (Philadelphia  Times,  May  31)  Mr.  Hayes  is  credited 
with  condemning  the  Democratic  caucus  control  which  had  forced  the  Potter 
movement    and  with  approving  the  views   expressed    by   Mr.  Key  and   Mr. 
Stephens,  and  he  is  quoted  as  saying:  "Such  schemes  cannot  be  carried  out 
without  war.  I  swore  to  preserve  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  will 
deliver  the  executive  office  in  its  integrity  to  my  successor.  They  can  impeach 
me  in  the  House  of  Representatives  and  try  me  in  the  Senate.  There  is  no  other 
way  in  which  I  will  recognize  any  attempt  of  Congress  to  remove  me.  But  I  do 
not  believe  that  the  United  States  Senate  has  fallen  to  that  point  where  high- 
class  Democrats  like  Bayard  and  Thurman,  Gordon  and  Hill,  will  agree  to  make 
the  Senate  a  vehicle  for  carrying  out  the  revolutionary  edict  of  a  party  caucus 
by  a  conviction  or  impeachment.  ...  I  should  defend  my  office  and  the  inde 
pendence  of  the  Executive  against  any  intruder."  The  interview  elicited  much 
adverse  comment,  especially  of  its  tone.   Whereupon  Mr.  Townsend,  in  a  sec 
ond  account  (Cincinnati  Enquirer,  June  2),  explained  that,  in  his  haste  to  report 
the  interview,  "perhaps  the  conversation  appears  in  an  intensity  of  expression 
which  might  lead  the  reader  to  suppose  the  President  was  excited  and  anxious 
to  talk.   He  never  was  more  complacent  and  quiet." 

2  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  about  this  time  that  the  New  York  Evening  Post 
printed  the  following  verses:  — 

TO  THE  PRESIDENT 

Made  .  .  .  sic  itur  ad  astro  I  —  VIRG. 

Stand  firm,  brave  heart!  Despite  of  faction's  cries, 

In  thy  great  task  be  constant  to  the  end; 
The  nation's  voice  is  with  thee,  and  replies 

In  cheers  to  thine,  hailing  the  People's  friend. 
The  People  —  all  —  not  party  nor  a  part; 

Nor  North  nor  South,  nor  East  nor  West,  but  all 
Bound  by  thy  rule  are  bound  within  thy  heart, 

Content  by  thy  strong  words  to  stand  or  fall. 
The  reign  of  wrong  and  petty  rogues  shall  cease, 

Merit  and  honesty  sole  passports  be 
Henceforth  to  trust;  and  hearty  Union,  peace 

Succeed  to  strife  and  local  tyranny. 
Then  shall  the  country,  long-depressed,  up-stand; 

With  wings  renewed  Prosperity  shall  rise, 
And  fling  her  garlands  o'er  the  bounteous  land  — 

Brighter  than  war's,  dearer  than  victory's. 


156  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

Finally,  the  pressure  of  public  opinion  became  so  heavy  that 
the  Democrats  in  Congress  could  no  longer  bear  its  weight,  and 
on  June  14,  under  suspension  of  the  rules,  they  were  forced  to 
accept  this  declaration:  — 

WHEREAS,  At  the  joint  meeting  of  the  two  houses  of  the  Forty-fourth 
Congress  convened  pursuant  to  law  and  the  Constitution,  for  the  purpose 
of  ascertaining  and  counting  the  votes  for  President  and  Vice-President 
for  the  term  commencing  March  4,  1877,  upon  counting  the  votes 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes  was  declared  to  be  elected  President  and  William 
A.  Wheeler  was  declared  elected  Vice-President  for  such  term :  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  no  subsequent  Congress  and  neither  house  has  juris 
diction  to  revise  the  action  at  such  joint  meeting,  and  any  attempt  by 
either  house  to  annul  or  disregard  such  action  or  the  title  to  office  arising 
therefrom  would  be  revolutionary  and  is  disapproved  by  this  House.1 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Messrs.  Blackburn,  Hewitt,  and 
Springer  voted  in  the  negative  and  that  Mr.  Potter  was  recorded 
as  not  voting.  Plainly,  these  leaders  of  the  Democratic  party 
had  committed  themselves  to  quite  a  different  theory  of  the 
powers  of  any  "subsequent  Congress."  But  by  the  passage  of 
this  resolution  Congress  had  nipped  in  the  bud  any  possible 

Let  faction  howl,  cold-hearted  friends  hang  back, 

And  baffled  enemies  revile  thy  name: 
Stand  firm:  hold  stanchly  on  thy  self -set  track, 

And  win  in  after  age  immortal  fame; 
The  Patriot  in  bad  times  who  stainless  stood, 
And  knew  no  statecraft  but  his  country's  good. 

GEORGE  VAKTDENHOFF. 

1  The  motion  was  made  by  Mr.  Burchard  (Rep.),  of  Illinois,  and  it  took  the 
Democrats  completely  by  surprise.  Absentees  were  quickly  summoned  from 
committee  rooms  and  excited  consultation  took  place  on  the  floor.  The  leaders 
were  unable  to  hold  their  followers.  Only  twenty-one  voted  against  suspension 
of  the  rules,  though  many  refused  to  vote.  Immediately  thereafter  Mr.  Hart- 
ridge  (Dem.),  from  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  reported  adversely  the  bill 
presented  by  Mr.  Kimmel,  of  Maryland,  to  give  the  Supreme  Court  power  to 
try  the  Presidential  election  controversy,  as  the  Maryland  resolution  requested. 
The  committee  held  "that  Congress  had  no  power  under  the  Constitution  to 
confer  such  jurisdiction."  It  proposed  this  resolution:  — 

"Resolved,  That  the  two  houses  of  the  Forty-fourth  Congress,  having  counted 
the  votes  cast  for  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  and  having 
declared  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  to  be  elected  President,  and  William  A.  Wheeler 
to  be  elected  Vice-President,  there  is  no  power  in  any  subsequent  Congress  to 
reverse  that  declaration,  nor  can  any  such  power  be  exercised  by  the  courts  of  the 
United  States,  or  any  other  tribunal  that  Congress  can  create  under  the  Con 
stitution." 

This  resolution  was  now  overwhelmingly  adopted,  Mr.  Hewitt  voting  in  the 
affirmative,  but  Messrs.  Blackburn  and  Springer  still  in  the  negative. 


THE  CIPHER  DISPATCHES  157 

revolutionary  project  that  the  intimate  partisans  of  Mr.  Tilden 
may  have  contemplated.  The  investigation  henceforth  could  be 
useful  to  the  Democrats,  if  at  all,  only  in  feeding  the  flame  of 
their  "  great  fraud  issue"  to  illumine  future  political  contests. 

Meanwhile  the  select  committee  of  eleven,  with  Mr.  Potter  as 
chairman,  had  been  named  and  June  1  began  its  labors.1  Of  the 
four  minority  members  only  Mr.  J.  D.  Cox,  of  Ohio,  was  a  gen 
uine  friend  of  the  Administration.  Mr.  Hiscock,  of  New  York, 
was  a  friend  of  Mr.  Conkling;  Mr.  Reed,  of  Maine,  a  friend  of  Mr. 
Elaine,  and  Mr.  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  of  Massachusetts,  was  a 
friend  of  no  one  but  himself;  —  he  was  in  open  opposition  to  the 
President  and  on  the  point  of  breaking  entirely  with  his  party.2 
It  is  unnecessary  here  to  follow  the  investigation  in  detail.  The 
first  witness,  James  E.  Anderson,  of  whom  so  much  was  expected 
to  discredit  Secretary  Sherman,  proved  himself  to  be  such  a  varie 
gated  and  versatile  liar  —  a  confessed  perjurer  and  blackmailer 
—  that  no  unsupported  testimony  that  he  gave  was  entitled  to 
credence.  He  admitted  that  he  had  had  only  one  short  conver 
sation  with  Mr.  Sherman  at  New  Orleans  and  that  was  in  a  public 
restaurant;  but  he  produced  what  purported  to  be  a  copy  of  a 
letter  which  he  said  had  been  addressed  to  himself  and  D.  A. 
Weber  by  Mr.  Sherman.  The  original,  he  said,  had  been  lost 
when  Weber  was  killed.  The  letter  assured  the  recipients  that,  if 
they  stood  firm  in  the  position  they  had  taken,  they  would  "  be 
provided  for  as  soon  after  the  4th  of  March  as  may  be  practic 
able."  Mr.  Sherman  denied  under  oath  that  he  had  written  or 
signed  any  such  letter,  though  there  were  expressions  in  it  that 
he  would  not  have  hesitated  to  use.  The  letter  was,  in  the  end, 
proved  to  be  a  forgery,  concocted  by  an  adventuress  named 
Jenks  whose  irresponsible  chatter  when  before  the  committee, 
while  affording  vast  amusement,  was  a  veritable  travesty  of 

1  The  members  were  Clarkson  N.  Potter  (New  York),  William  R.  Morrison 
(Illinois),  Eppa  Hunton  (Virginia),  William  S.  Stenger  (Pennsylvania),  John 
A.  McMahon  (Ohio),  J.  C.  S.  Blackburn  (Kentucky),  William  M.  Springer 
(Illinois),  Democrats;  and  B.  F.  Butler  (Massachusetts),  Jacob  D.  Cox  (Ohio), 
Thomas  B.  Reed  (Maine),  and  Frank  Hiscock  (New  York),  Republicans.  — 
Mr.  Randall  was  accused  of  "packing"  the  committee  so  as  to  make  it  as  un 
favorable  to  the  Administration  as  possible. 

2  A  few  weeks  later  he  captured  the  Democratic  nomination  for  Governor  in 
Massachusetts  and  carried  his  demagogic,  mischief-making  power  back  to  his 
ancient  party  allegiance. 


158  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

testimony.1  No  evidence  in  corroboration  of  Anderson's  charges 
against  Mr.  Sherman  was  produced  and  so  the  "case"  against 
him  completely  broke  down.  Anderson,  however,  produced  cor 
respondence  between  himself  and  Stanley  Matthews  relating  to 
his  efforts  to  obtain  office,  which  showed,  to  say  the  least,  that 
Mr.  Matthews  had  been  easily  imposed  upon  and  that  he  had 
been  indiscreet  in  pressing  Anderson's  "claims."  On  the  other 
hand,  it  developed  that  Mr.  Hayes,  who  had  at  first  received  the 
impression  that  Anderson  was  a  deserving  and  competent  man, 
who  might  well  receive  a  small  consulship,  had  on  learning  his 
true  character  refused  to  give  him  place  or  even  to  see  him.  Mr. 
Hayes  in  his  diary  (June  2, 1878)  gives  the  following  racy  account 
of  his  relations  with  Anderson:  — 

The  election  investigation  began  yesterday  with  calling  as  a  witness 
the  scamp  Anderson.  He  testified  that  a  letter  was  given  to  himself  and 
Weber,  election  officers  in  the  Felicianas,  by  Sherman  to  induce  them  to 
aid  in  fraud  in  regard  to  the  election.  He  produced  a  copy,  as  he  said,  of 
the  letter.  It  is  not  a  letter  which  sustains  the  charge  even  if  genuine. 
He  also  testified  that  he  called  on  me  soon  after  I  was  inaugurated  and 
got  from  me  an  endorsement  to  Secretary  Evarts  to  give  him  a  consul 
ship  in  a  warm  climate. 

The  facts  are,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned :  He  came  to  me,  one  of  the 
throng  of  office-seekers  early  in  my  term.  He  had  a  strong  recommenda 
tion  from  a  trustworthy  citizen  of  Steubenville,  Ohio,  name  not  now 
recollected,  and  testimonials  from  Senators  Matthews  and  Kellogg  and 
Representatives  Leonard,  Darral,  Nash.  Nothing  was  said  which  led 
me  to  suspect  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  any  crookedness,  or  that  any 
promises  had  been  made  to  him  in  my  name  or  otherwise.  The  facts 
stated  were  that  he  had  been  an  active  Republican  at  the  risk  of  his  life 
in  Louisiana,  and  that  on  account  of  his  activity  as  a  Republican  he  had 
been  driven  from  his  home  and  business  and  could  not  safely  return. 
He  appeared  intelligent  and  capable.  He  represented  that  his  wife's 
health  required  him  to  go  to  a  mild  climate.  Our  interview  lasted  only  a 
few  minutes.  I,  therefore,  gave  him  the  recommendation  referred  to. 
Afterwards,  and  after  a  small  consulship  had  been  found  for  him,  I 
learned  from  an  anonymous  letter  signed  "Bulldozer,"  and  from  a  note 
from  J.  A.  Straight,  facts  that  made  me  suspect  him.  I  also  learned  from 
Senator  Matthews  facts  that  induced  the  belief  that  he  was  trying  to 
levy  blackmail.  I  then  directed  that  nothing  should  be  done  for  him 
until  his  character  was  investigated.  The  result  was  that  no  office 
was  given  to  him.  My  note  as  to  his  character  is  on  file  in  the  State 

1  "Beyond  question  the  most  remarkable  witness  ever  before  a  congressional 
committee."  (New  York  Tribune,  Washington  dispatch,  June  24,  1878.) 


THE  CIPHER  DISPATCHES  159 

Department  with  other  papers.  The  files  show  clearly  the  action  by 
me  and  the  reasons  for  it. 

As  to  the  alleged  frauds  and  perjury  of  Anderson  with  reference  to  the 
election  in  Feliciana,  I  never  heard  of  it  until  long  after  his  papers  were 
sent  to  the  Secretary  of  State. 

When  Anderson  was  recommended  by  me  for  a  place  in  a  warm  cli 
mate  there  was  nothing  before  me  against  him,  and  much  in  his  favor, 
but  after  I  heard  the  facts  against  him,  I  was  satisfied  we  had  no  place  as 
warm  as  he  deserved,  and  so  he  got  nothing !  Hence  his  trouble  with  us 
now! 

Anderson  says  he  told  me  that  the  Feliciana  business  was  "a  cheat." 
If  so  it  was  on  one  of  the  occasions  when  he  was  under  the  influence  of 
liquor  and  excited.  I  gave  him  no  serious  attention  and  got  rid  of  him  as 
soon  as  possible.  I  certainly  never  promised  him  office,  and  never  in 
tended  to  give  him  office  after  I  had  been  informed  of  his  true  character 
and  conduct.  He  could  have  been  appointed  if  it  had  been  deemed 
proper,  and  he  was  not  appointed  on  account  of  the  information  received 
about  him.1 

Equally  futile  was  the  effort  to  prove  that  Mr.  Noyes  had 
sought  to  influence  the  action  of  the  Florida  Returning  Board  by 
promises  of  office.  A  subcommittee  visited  Florida  to  take  Mc- 
Lin's  testimony.  McLin  repeated  in  greater  detail  the  impres 
sions  set  forth  in  his  affidavit.  The  Republican  visiting  states 
men,  he  declared,  particularly  Messrs.  Noyes,  Chandler,  and 
Lew  Wallace,  had  assured  him  that  in  case  of  Republican  success 
he  would  be  "  well  taken  care  of  " ;  but  he  acknowledged  that  Mr. 
Noyes  had  made  no  such  promise  to  him  until  after  the  contest 
was  decided.  He  testified  also  that  Manton  Marble,  Mr.  Tilden's 
friend,  one  of  the  Democratic  visitors,  had  told  him,  in  case  the 
Board  declared  the  Tilden  electors  chosen,  there  would  be  no 
danger  of  his  dying  poor.  Mr.  Noyes  himself,  who  came  from 
Paris  to  give  his  testimony,  denied  emphatically  that  he  had 
ever  made  to  members  of  the  Returning  Board  any  promise  or 

1  Secretaries  Sherman,  Schurz,  Thompson,  and  Key,  and  Messrs.  Garfield, 
McKinley,  and  Keifer,  of  the  House,  were  at  the  White  House  for  dinner  June  2. 
Mr.  Hayes  writes:  "The  testimony  of  Anderson  was  talked  over.  The  general 
opinion  was  that  his  story  was  too  thin  to  do  serious  harm.  Anderson  testifies 
that,  June  13,  1877,  he  called  at  the  White  House  to  see  me  with  General  Smith 
(T.  C.  H.);  that  Smith  saw  me,  but  he  did  not;  that  Smith  came  out  saying 
that  'the  President,  for  political  considerations,  wanted  something  satisfactory 
done  for  him,  Anderson.'  My  recollection  is  that  I  told  Smith  I  believed  Ander 
son  was  a  great  scoundrel  and  that  I  would  not  see  him,  and  wanted  nothing 
further  to  do  with  him.  I  certainly  did  not  say  I  wanted  him  to  have  office." 
(Diary,  June  3,  1878.) 


160  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

held  out  any  inducement  to  have  them  declare  the  State  for 
the  Hayes  electors  before  the  decision  was  made;  all  he  sought 
was  a  fair  and  honest  count.  After  the  decision  was  made  he 
told  McLin  that  he  should  be  glad  to  say  to  Governor  Hayes 
that  he  (McLin)  had  done  his  duty  honestly  and  faithfully  and 
to  recommend  him  for  some  position.  Mr.  Chandler  denied 
making  any  such  promise.  General  Wallace  testified :  — 

I  went  to  Mr.  McLin's  house  by  invitation  an  evening  or  two  before 
the  Board  was  to  pronounce  their  judgment,  and  after  some  general 
conversation,  he  made  the  remark  that  Mr.  Manton  Marble,  repre 
senting  the  Democrats,  had  been  but  a  very  short  time  before  at  his 
house  to  see  him,  and  had  told  him  there  was  no  necessity  of  his 
(McLin's)  living  or  dying  a  poor  man;  that  if  Tilden  was  counted  in 
he  could  command  anything  he  wanted.  I  said  to  McLin,  "Mr. 
Marble  is  very  bold  in  his  proposition,  and  he  certainly  forgets  that 
if  Hayes  is  elected  he  will  have  the  same  opportunity  of  taking  care 
of  his  friends,  which,"  I  added,  "  I  have  no  doubt  he  will  do."  I  did 
not  understand  at  the  time  that  that  was  a  corrupt  proposition  from 
me,  or  anything  that  looked  that  way  to  Mr.  McLin.  I  had  too  much 
respect  for  Mr.  McLin  to  make  any  such  proposition. 

Many  witnesses  appeared  before  the  committee  and  a  vast 
amount  of  evidence,  such  as  it  was,  was  taken.  While  it  revealed 
anew  in  a  striking  way  the  irregularities  and  confusion  that  had 
accompanied  the  elections  in  Louisiana  and  Florida,  it  did  not 
add  materially  to  the  knowledge  in  that  regard  already  brought 
out  by  the  congressional  investigations  of  the  previous  year.  It 
certainly  failed  utterly  to  prove  that  the  action  of  the  Returning 
Board  in  either  Louisiana  or  Florida  had  been  the  result  of  Re 
publican  "conspiracy,"  or  had  been  brought  about  by  fraud  or 
corruption.  And,  of  course,  the  Democratic  examiners  refused 
to  go  into  the  question  of  violence  and  coercion  and  intimidation, 
which  had  justified  the  action  taken  by  the  Returning  Boards,  in 
the  exercise  of  their  discretionary  powers,  to  determine  the  true 
voice  of  their  States. 

Naturally  the  testimony  and  "confessions"  were  paraded  by 
the  Democratic  politicians  and  papers  as  tending  to  substantiate 
their  contention  of  fraud.  In  their  estimation  here  was  effective 
material  for  use  in  the  congressional  elections  of  the  year.  Man- 
ton  Marble,  whose  fervor  and  rhetoric  were  ever  ready  for  copi 
ous  exudation  in  the  cause  of  his  great  and  good  friend,  published 


THE  CIPHER  DISPATCHES  161 

a  prolix  letter  in  the  New  York  Sun  of  August  3,  1878,  which 
glowed  with  righteous  indignation  at  the  "perjuries,  forgeries, 
and  paper  fabrications"  which  he  charged  the  Republicans  with 
having  perpetrated  and  procured  in  canvassing  the  votes  of  the 
three  disputed  States.  While  the  desperate  Republicans  were 
engaged  in  their  dark  designs,  he  insisted  that  the  virtuous  Demo 
crats  were  "  always  standing  fast  in  the  final  citadel  of  power,  the 
keen,  bright  sunlight  of  publicity";  and  that  their  exalted  leader 
placed  "his  absolute  trust  in  moral  forces;  his  entire  faith  in  the 
people,  their  volitions,  and  their  power." 

If  Mr.  Marble  could  write  in  that  fashion,  possessing  the 
secret  knowledge  that  he  did,  what  would  have  been  the  ardor 
of  his  eloquence  could  he  have  banished  from  his  consciousness 
all  memory  of  his  own  conduct  during  the  progress  of  the  count 
in  Florida?  His  secret  was  safe  with  the  few  partners  in  his  en 
deavors;  and  all  record  of  it,  even  could  its  cryptic  form  be  un 
riddled,  he  doubtless  supposed  had  perished  long  ago.  So,  how 
could  the  public  ever  suspect  that  his  tone  of  virtuous  exaltation, 
his  scorn  of  all  unrighteous  procedure,  was  as  empty  and  mean 
ingless  as  a  cornered  burglar's  noisy  protestations  of  innocent 
purpose?  He  was  not  destined  long  to  retain  his  sense  of  security; 
nor  the  Democrats  long  to  find  satisfaction  in  the  performances 
of  the  Potter  Committee. 

In  January,  1877,  the  Senate  Committee  on  Privileges  and 
Elections  had  obtained,  on  subpoena,  from  the  Western  Union 
Telegraph  Company,  all  the  cipher  dispatches  —  some  thirty 
thousand  —  which  had  passed  between  politicians  during  the 
Presidential  campaign  and  the  period  of  the  canvass,  except 
those  relating  to  Louisiana,  which  latter  had  already  been  de 
manded  by  the  House  Committee.  In  March  the  dispatches  had 
been  returned  to  the  company,  which  took  them  back  to  New 
York  and  burned  them.  But  while  the  dispatches  were  in  the 
possession  of  the  Senate  Committee  several  hundred,  relating  to 
Florida,  South  Carolina,  and  Oregon,  were  withdrawn  from  the 
mass  and  retained,  quite  unknown  to  the  company.  Soon  after 
the  Potter  Committee  began  its  inquiry,  these  dispatches  came 
into  the  possession  of  the  New  York  Tribune.  Those  revealing 
the  Democratic  plot  to  buy  an  electoral  vote  in  Oregon  under 
direction  of  Colonel  William  T.  Pelton,  Mr.  Tilden's  nephew  and 


162  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

house  companion,  had  been  deciphered  while  the  electoral  count 
was  going  on.  The  Florida  and  South  Carolina  dispatches,  how 
ever,  had  so  far  baffled  all  attempts  to  discover  their  hidden 
meaning.  The  Tribune  published  samples  of  them  from  time  to 
time,  with  humorous  comment,  in  the  hope  that  some  reader 
might  detect  the  key  to  the  cryptogram.  Finally  John  R.  G. 
Hassard,  chief  of  the  Tribune  staff,  and  Colonel  William  G. 
Grosvenor,  a  member  of  the  staff,  set  to  work  independently  in  a 
serious  and  determined  effort  to  solve  the  mystery.  After  pro 
longed  labor,  the  account  of  which  reads  more  like  ingenious  fic 
tion  than  a  sober  recital  of  fact,  they  were  entirely  successful  in 
discovering  the  various  and  intricate  keys  employed  in  the  cryp 
tic  correspondence  between  Mr.  Tilden's  house  and  Democratic 
agents  in  Florida  and  South  Carolina.  With  admirable  journal 
istic  exploitation  the  Tribune,  early  in  October,  began  to  print 
the  cipher  dispatches  together  with  their  translations,  creating 
thereby  one  of  the  greatest  political  sensations  in  the  history 
of  the  country.  The  publication  covered  the  Democrats  with 
confusion  and  angry  chagrin,  and  it  completely  eclipsed  popular 
interest  in  the  Potter  Committee's  accomplishment.  The  de 
ciphered  dispatches  disclosed  that  the  closest  friends  of  Mr.  Til- 
den,  instead  of  courting  the  "keen,  bright  sunlight  of  publicity,5* 
had  been  shrouding  their  movements  in  what  they  had  fondly 
thought  was  impenetrable  darkness;  instead  of  placing  their 
"absolute  trust  in  moral  forces,"  had  been  seeking  to  purchase 
the  Presidency  by  the  vulgar  methods  of  corrupt  lobbyists. 

In  Florida  the  secret  agents  of  "trust  in  moral  forces"  were 
Manton  Marble,  who  rejoiced  in  the  cipher  name  "Moses,"  C. 
W.  Woolley,  known  as  " Fox,"  and  John  F.  Coyle,  "Max."  They 
reported  to  Colonel  Pelton,  at  Mr.  Tilden's  house.  Frequent 
dispatches  relating  to  the  bribery  of  a  member  of  the  Canvassing 
Board  passed  between  Tallahassee  and  New  York.  Finally, 
December  2,  "Moses"  telegraphed  that  he  could  obtain  the  "re 
quired  Tilden  decision  of  Board  and  certificate  of  Governor  for 
$200,000."  The  answer  was  that  the  price  was  too  high,  for  "  Fox  " 
had  telegraphed  that  $50,000  would  be  enough  to  turn  the  trick. 
"Moses"  reported  to  similar  effect  December  4,  and  New  York 
replied  at  once  authorizing  acceptance  of  the  proposition;  but 
four  words  were  omitted  in  transmission  of  the  cipher  dispatch, 


THE   CIPHER  DISPATCHES  163 

making  it  unintelligible  to  Marble,  who  called  for  a  repetition. 
This  was  not  received  until  the  next  day,  the  day  before  the 
electors  were  to  vote;  and  Marble,  apparently  in  disgust,  replied, 

"Proposition  failed Tell  Tilden  to  saddle  Blackstone."  l 

Woolley  telegraphed,  "Power  secured  too  late."  Whether  Mar 
ble  and  Woolley  could  actually  have  completed  the  corrupt 
arrangement,  had  the  power  been  secured  earlier,  or  whether 
they  were  being  played  upon  by  shrewder  men,  cannot  be  known. 
There  is  no  trustworthy  evidence  that  in  either  Florida  or  South 
Carolina  any  members  of  the  returning  Board  could  really  have 
been  bought.  But  what  is  known  is  that  Mr.  Tilden's  nephew 
authorized  the  immoral  transaction. 

"In  South  Carolina,"  as  the  Tribune  summarized  the  evidence 
of  the  dispatches,  "the  purchasing  agent  was  Smith  M.  Weed. 
He  telegraphed  to  Colonel  Pelton,  on  the  very  day  of  his  arrival 
at  Columbia,  a  proposal  to  buy  the  Canvassing  Board  for 
$30,000,  to  which  Pelton  appears  to  have  readily  assented.  This 
figure  was  too  low,  and  the  negotiation,  after  lasting  six  days,  was 
closed  at  the  price  of  $80,000.  It  was  arranged  that  Weed  should 
meet  a  messenger  at  Baltimore,  who  was  to  carry  the  money  in 
three  packages;  and  he  particularly  requested  that  Colonel  Pel- 
ton  should  act  as  this  messenger  himself.  Weed  accordingly  ar 
rived  in  Baltimore  from  Columbia  on  the  20th  of  November,  and 
Pelton  arrived  there  at  the  same  time  from  New  York;  but  again 
a  little  delay  upset  the  scheme.  Subsequently  a  plot  was  formed 
to  buy  four  members  of  the  South  Carolina  Legislature,  for 
$20,000,  and  having  thus  obtained  control  of  the  State  Govern 
ment,  to  put  the  Hayes  electors  in  jail,  and  lock  them  up  in  sepa 
rate  cells  until  the  day  for  casting  the  electoral  votes  had  passed. 
The  result  of  this  villainy  would  have  been  to  deprive  South  Car 
olina  of  any  vote,  and  to  throw  the  choice  of  a  President  into  the 
House  of  Representatives,  which  would  have  elected  Tilden. 
The  plan  failed  because  the  four  members  could  not  be  bought." 

The  effect  on  the  public  mind  of  these  disclosures  can  hardly 
be  overstated.  The  doubts  of  the  authenticity  of  the  dispatches 
and  of  the  correctness  of  their  translation  expressed  by  the 
Democratic  press  were  too  feeble  to  make  any  impression, 
and  all  their  sarcasm  was  unavailing  to  dissipate  the  popular 
1  The  name  of  Mr.  Tilden's  favorite  horse. 


164  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

condemnation.  Neither  did  it  avail  to  insist  that  the  Republicans 
were  just  as  bad.  Evidence  to  support  that  contention,  with  all 
the  prying  and  insinuations  of  the  Potter  examiners,  was  lacking. 
Mr.  Tilden  promptly  published  a  card,1  asserting  that  he  had  "no 
knowledge  of  the  existence  of  these  telegrams  nor  any  information 
about  them"  except  what  he  had  learned  from  the  Tribune  pub 
lication.  He  had  never  heard  of  the  corrupt  Florida  offer  "until 
long  after  the  6th  of  December,"  and  then  "casually"  when  the 
information  given  him  was  "accompanied  by  the  statement  that 
the  offer  had  been  rejected."  In  regard  to  the  South  Carolina 
dispatches  his  precise  language  was :  — 

I  can  speak  of  them  no  less  definitely  and  positively.  No  one  of  such 
telegrams,  either  in  cipher  or  translated,  was  ever  shown  to,  or  its  con 
tents  made  known  to  me.  No  offer  or  negotiation  in  behalf  of  the  state 
canvassers  of  South  Carolina,  or  of  any  of  them,  or  any  dealing  with 
any  of  them  in  respect  to  the  certificates  to  the  electors,  was  ever  au 
thorized  or  sanctioned  in  any  manner  by  me,  directly  or  through  any 
other  person. 

All  which,  if  true,  was,  as  the  event  proved,  at  least  disingenuous 
and  misleading.  While  apparently  a  denial  of  knowledge  at  the 
time  of  the  whole  transaction,  it  was  careful  not  to  disavow  pos 
session  of  information  concerning  such  an  "offer  or  negotiation." 
Furthermore,  Mr.  Tilden  asseverated,  no  attempt  to  influence 
the  action  of  any  member  of  any  Returning  Board  or  of  any  elec 
tor  "by  such  motives"  "was  ever  entertained,  considered,  or 
tolerated  by  him  or  by  anybody  within  his  influence  by  his  con 
sent,  or  with  his  knowledge  or  acquiescence."  He  had  had  "one 
fixed  purpose  from  which  he  had  not  deviated  in  word  or  act  — 
to  take  no  part  in  the  shameful  competition  to  obtain  the  Presi 
dency  by  resort  to  any  form  of  venal  inducements." 

And  yet  the  fact  remained,  undisputed  and  indisputable,  that 
confidential  friends  of  Mr.  Tilden,  armed  with  elaborate  ciphers, 
were  for  weeks  bombarding  Mr.  Tilden's  house  with  dispatches, 
submitting  corrupt  proposals,  and  that  these  dispatches  were 
received  and  answered  and  the  corrupt  proposals  accepted  and 
sanctioned  by  Colonel  William  T.  Pelton,  Mr.  Tilden's  nephew, 

1  Mr.  Marble  also  had  the  audacity  to  issue  a  letter  in  which  he  furiously 
denied  having  sent  some  of  the  dispatches  credited  to  him.  But  the  most  damag 
ing  he  could  not  deny,  for  they  were  in  his  own  handwriting. 


THE  CIPHER  DISPATCHES  165 

who  might  reasonably  be  supposed  to  be  "within  his  influence" 
and  to  be  shaping  his  conduct  in  matters  of  supreme  importance 
to  his  uncle  in  deference  to  his  known  wishes.  It  is  not  strange, 
therefore,  that  the  public  found  it  difficult  to  accept  Mr.  Tilden's 
assertions  of  complete  innocence  as  altogether  conclusive.  His 
reputation  for  crafty  shrewdness,  and  the  fact  that  he  was  known 
to  have  been  the  guiding  and  controlling  spirit  of  his  campaign 
for  the  Presidency,  inclined  average  human  intelligence  to  as 
sume  that  his  ignorance  of  what  his  nephew  and  his  most  inti 
mate  friends  were  plotting  in  his  behalf  could  not  have  been 
other  than  wilful.1 

As  soon  as  Congress  reassembled  in  December  the  Republicans 
began  to  demand  that  the  Potter  Committee  should  extend  its 
inquiry  to  the  cipher  dispatches.  The  Democrats  fought  shy  of 
the  subject  until  late  in  January,  when,  with  evident  reluctance, 
they  instructed  the  committee  to  make  an  investigation.  The 
committee  first  sought  assiduously  to  discover  inculpatory 
Republican  dispatches,  but  none  were  brought  to  light.  A  sub 
committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Hunton,  Springer,  and  Stenger, 
Democrats,  and  Messrs.  Hiscock  and  Reed,  Republicans,  then 
visited  New  York,  where  the  testimony  of  the  principal  men 
involved  was  taken.  Colonel  Pelton  admitted  his  part  in  the 
corrupt  negotiations,  as  did  also  Smith  M.  Weed,  the  latter  jus 
tifying  his  conduct  on  the  theory  that  it  was  right  to  use  such 
means  to  redeem  stolen  goods.  The  righteous  Marble,  who  had 
prated  so  fervently  of  reliance  on  "moral  forces,"  protested  that 
he  had  sent  the  corrupt  proposals  as  "danger  signals"  —  a  pre 
tension  that  was  greeted  by  the  committee  and  spectators  with 
contemptuous  laughter.  All  of  these  witnesses  seemed  to  be  suf 
fering  from  a  partial  paralysis  of  memory  which  made  it  difficult 
for  them  to  recall  details  of  their  activity.  They  could  not  even 
say  that  the  translations  of  the  dispatches  were  accurate.  They 
had  forgotten  or  lost  the  keys !  Colonel  Pelton  and  Mr.  Weed 

1  "  I  asked  Mr.  Fish  (the  Governor)  what  was  the  opinion  of  the  well  informed 
in  New  York  as  to  Mr.  Tilden's  knowledge  of  the  cipher  dispatches.  He  replied, 
that  no  one  acquainted  with  Mr.  Tilden's  methods  and  character  had  any  doubt 
of  his  knowledge  and  connection  with  them;  that  he  was  intimately  acquainted 
with  Tilden  more  than  forty  years  ago;  that  he  was  bright,  fond  of  philosophiz 
ing  about  politics,  and  always  interesting;  that  their  offices  were  near  together." 
(Diary,  New  York,  October  5,  1885.) 


166  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

acknowledged  that  they  had  met  in  Baltimore  to  arrange  for  the 
completion  of  the  latter's  South  Carolina  bargain.  But  both  de 
nied  that  Mr.  Tilden  knew  anything  about  the  transaction  until 
he  was  informed  of  it  by  Edward  Cooper,  treasurer  of  the  Dem 
ocratic  National  Committee,  to  whom  Pelton  applied  for  the 
necessary  corruption  money.  Mr.  Cooper  testified  to  similar 
effect.  Finally,  Mr.  Tilden  himself  appeared  before  the  commit 
tee,  at  his  own  request,  and  made  the  most  sweeping  denial  that 
he  had  had  anything  whatever  to  do  with  the  rascally  business 
going  on  under  his  own  roof;  that  he  had  never  authorized  or 
countenanced  it ;  and  that  he  had  no  knowledge  or  suspicion  that 
any  corrupt  schemes  were  attempted  until  after  the  event;  except 
that  he  had  been  informed  of  the  South  Carolina  bargain  as  it 
was  about  to  be  consummated  and  had  peremptorily  stopped  the 
transaction,  and  ordered  Pelton  to  return  immediately  to  New 
York.1 

And  yet,  after  this  bargain  fell  through  because  of  Mr.  Tilden's 
condemnation  (his  word  being  accepted),  his  nephew  entered 
into  another  corrupt  plot  to  control  the  vote  in  South  Carolina 
and  continued  his  flagitious  negotiations  for  the  purchase  of  the 
Returning  Board  in  Florida  and  for  buying  one  elector  in  Ore 
gon.  All  which  shows,  at  least,  that  Mr.  Tilden  was  not  able  to 
influence  his  own  nephew  to  place  his  reliance  only  on  moral 
forces  or  to  deter  him  from  further  malign  activity.  It  is  to  be 
noted  also  that  Mr.  Tilden's  abhorrence  of  the  conduct  of  his 
intimate  friends  was  not  sufficient  to  cause  him  to  sever  relations 
with  them.  They  remained  on  the  same  confidential  footing  with 
him  as  before. 

While  it  is  to  be  said  that  there  was  no  absolute  proof  of  Mr. 
Tilden's  participation  in  or  knowledge  of  the  corrupt  dealings  of 
his  nephew  and  his  close  friends,  all  the  attendant  circumstances, 
taken  in  connection  with  his  known  sagacity,  make  the  theory 
of  his  unqualified  innocence  extremely  difficult  to  entertain.  It 
can  only  be  accepted  at  the  expense  of  his  vaunted  astuteness.2 

1  On  his  cross-examination  by  Mr.  Reed,  Mr.  Tilden  sought  to  defend  with 
much  sophistry  his  suppressio  veri  in  his  letter  of  the  previous  October.  It  cannot 
be  said  that  his  defense  was  impressive. 

2  The  Democratic  press  accepted  Mr.    Tilden's  testimony  as  completely 
exonerating  him.   The  Republican  refused  to  be  convinced.   For  example,  the 
New  York  Times,  February,  7,  1879,  said  editorially:  "If  we  are  to  accept  the 


THE  CIPHER  DISPATCHES  167 

The  minority  report  of  the  investigating  committee  was  quite 
within  reason  in  declaring:  "The  denials  of  Messrs.  Pelton  and 
Tilden  of  the  complicity  of  the  latter  cannot  remove  the  taint  of 
suspicion  that  rests  upon  him." 

The  general  result  of  the  Potter  investigation,  therefore,  was 
altogether  different  from  what  its  authors  had  hoped  and  ex 
pected.1  They  had  gone  out  after  wool  and  had  returned  shorn, 

theory  which  Mr.  Tilden's  agents  are  trying  to  establish  on  the  witness-stand, 
as  they  have  already  tried  to  establish  it  in  the  press  and  on  the  floor  of  Congress, 
we  must  believe  that  he  was  an  unsuspecting  and  careless  old  man,  who  'put 
himself  in  the  hands  of  his  friends,'  who  left  everything  to  them,  who  knew 
nothing  of  what  was  going  on  in  his  behalf,  and  who,  when  he  discovered  their 
wickedness,  reproved  them  with  mild  displeasure,  and  was  too  good-natured  and 
too  innocent  to  see  that  anything  more  was  required  of  him.  Nothing  could 
be  more  inconsistent  with  Mr.  Tilden's  known  character  and  with  all  the  facts 
of  his  political  career.  He  is,  and  has  always  been,  an  active,  keen,  vigilant  man 
ager  of  his  own  affairs,  in  general  and  in  detail.  He  has  small  confidence  in  any 
one,  knows  to  a  shade  the  responsibility  of  a  public  man,  fully  appreciates  the 
value  of  public  esteem,  and  has  always  closely  regulated  every  step  made  by  or 
for  him  in  his  political  projects.  He  is  the  last  man  for  whom  any  relative  or 
friend  would  bind  himself  to  pay  $50,000,  $80,000,  $200,000,  trusting  to  the 
result  to  justify  the  bargain  and  secure  reimbursement.  In  order  to  have  been 
the  innocent,  dull,  '  goody'  sort  of  person  he  is  represented  as  being  throughout 
this  game  for  the  purchase  of  the  Presidential  office,  Mr.  Tilden  must  have 
changed  every  fibre  of  his  character,  every  impulse,  habit,  and  purpose  of  his 
mind.  That  he  had  not  done  so  as  late  as  the  16th  of  October  last  is  abundantly 
proved  by  his  adroit  card  of  that  date,  in  which  it  was  evident  that  he  had  lost 
none  of  his  ancient  cunning,  and  had  gained  not  a  whit  of  the  ingenuousness 
which  the  theory  of  his  friends  now  attributes  to  him." 

And  George  William  Curtis,  in  Harper's  Weekly,  March  1,  1879,  said:  "Here 
is  Mr.  Tilden  confessing  that  he  did  not  know  the  monstrous  rascalities  that  his 
immediate  friends  and  political  associates  were  carrying  on  in  his  own  house. 
...  It  is  evident  from  all  the  testimony  that  when  Mr.  Tilden  learned  of  Pelton's 
visit  to  Baltimore  to  conclude  the  bargain,  he  called  him  back  and  reproved  him. 
But  there  is  no  evidence  or  pretense  that  he  took  care  to  deprive  such  a  dangerous 
fellow  of  further  opportunities  of  mischief.  In  fact,  with  the  exception  of  a 
scolding,  Pelton  occupied  the  same  position  as  before,  and  actually  continued 
the  attempt  to  buy  a  vote.  According  to  Mr.  Tilden's  account,  his  own  action 
was  confined  to  scolding  his  nephew  and  leaving  him  to  his  pranks.  His  conduct 
was  that  of  a  man  who  knew  that  such  things  if  brought  to  his  knowledge  '  would 
not  do.'  But  there  is  no  sign  of  that  mighty  indignation  with  which  his  card  last 
October  declared  that  he  should  'crush  out'  any  intimation  of  contemplated 
fraud.  .  .  .  The  general  feeling  in  regard  to  Mr.  Tilden's  connection  with  the 
cipher  bribery  plot  is  undoubtedly  that  Pelton  did  not  tell  him  what  was  going 
on.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  know  what  Mr.  Tilden,  as  a  shrewd  and  ex 
perienced  politician,  suspected,  and  what  he  chose  not  to  know.  But  that  his 
political  conscience  is  very  sensitive  is  probably  not  generally  supposed." 

1  In  a  letter  to  Minister  Noyes,  April  1,  1879,  a  month  after  the  committee 
reported,  Secretary  Sherman  wrote:  "The  report  of  the  Potter  Committee, 


168  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

with  sides  scarified  and  bleeding.  The  "  keen,  bright  sunlight  of 
publicity"  had  been  turned  upon  the  "great  fraud  issue,"  and, 
instead  of  establishing  it  as  a  pillar  of  fire  to  lead  the  Democrats 
to  assured  victory  in  1880,  had  utterly  annihilated  it.  Hence 
forth  it  played  no  part  in  the  practical  political  thought  of  the 
period.  With  its  disappearance,  under  the  conditions  that  caused 
its  demolition,  vanished  likewise  Mr.  Tilden's  hopes  of  a  renomi- 
nation.  The  Democrats  could  never  venture  into  a  national 
campaign  with  the  damning  record  of  the  cipher  dispatches  hang 
ing  over  them  like  a  pall.  How  completely  men  in  1880  had  ceased 
to  think  of  the  passions  and  recriminations  of  the  electoral  dis 
pute  was  strikingly  manifested  by  the  nomination  and  election 
by  the  Republicans  of  James  A.  Garfield,  who  had  been  one  of  the 
visiting  statesmen  in  New  Orleans  and  who  had  served  on  the 
Electoral  Commission.1 

Mr.  Stephens's  acute  prediction  was  doubly  fulfilled.  He  had 

which  you  correctly  pronounce  to  be  infamous,  was  received  in  silence  and  was 
scarcely  printed  or  noticed  in  the  newspapers  of  the  United  States  two  days 
after  its  presentation  to  the  House.  It  was  then  severely  handled  by  the  Re 
publican  press  and  treated  with  silence  by  the  Democratic  press  and  now  it  is 
not  mentioned.  .  .  .  But  for  the  expense  and  trouble  of  the  investigation,  I  am 
rather  gratified  that  it  occurred,  for  the  feeling  of  the  Democratic  party,  over 
what  they  supposed  was  a  fraudulent  return,  would  have  deepened  into  con 
viction,  while  the  investigation  tended  on  the  whole  to  repel  this  suspicion." 
(Recollections,  chapter  xxxm.) 

1  Writing  to  W.  E.  Chandler,  September  29,  1885,  to  acknowledge  receipt 
of  an  article  by  him  on  the  "Florida  Count  in  1876-77,"  Mr.  Hayes  said:  — 

"Your  statement  that  the  failure  to  renominate  the  man  claimed  to  be  beaten 
by  fraud  gives  away  his  case,  cannot  be  gainsaid.  It  is  a  conclusive  reply  to  the 
'fraud  cry.' 

"I  merely  suggest  that  the  nomination  and  election  of  Garfield  emphasizes 
this  in  the  most  cogent  way.  General  Garfield  was  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the 
whole  business  complained  of.  As  a  visiting  statesman  to  Louisiana  he  reported 
to  me,  to  the  country,  and  officially  to  the  President  that  the  final  result  in 
Louisiana  was  not  merely  fair  and  just,  but  according  to  the  law  and  equity  of 
the  case.  He  was  placed  on  the  Electoral  Commission  and  on  all  questions  voted 
with  the  majority.  He  was  in  the  fullest  sense  responsible  for  the  result.  His 
nomination  and  election  clinched  the  business. 

"Again,  General  Hancock,  who  was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  in  1880, 
was  distinctly  identified  with  the  liberal  wing  of  his  party,  who  scouted  the 
whole  charge  of  fraud,  and  with  Alexander  H.  Stephens  he  agreed.  Before  the 
controversy  was  ended  in  favor  of  the  Republicans  he  published  a  letter  in  which 
he  said  he  'knew  Governor  Hayes  well  as  a  soldier  in  the  war,  that  he  would 
make  a  good  President ' ;  —  and  when  the  result  was  declared  he  did  not  sulk, 
but  was  among  the  first  after  inauguration  who  promptly  paid  his  respects  to 
the  new  President." 


THE  CIPHER  DISPATCHES  169 

foreseen  that  the  Potter  investigation,  with  its  scarcely  con 
cealed  ulterior  purpose,  would  "prove  in  the  end  either  a  con 
temptible  farce  or  a  horrible  tragedy."  It  proved  to  be  both,  — 
"a  contemptible  farce,"  so  far  as  the  intent  had  been  to  make  it 
the  basis  for  a  revolutionary  attack  on  the  White  House  or  to 
render  the  "great  fraud  issue"  respectable  and  paramount;  "a 
horrible  tragedy,"  so  far  as  it  affected  the  hopes  and  ambitions 
of  Mr.  Tilden. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS 

THE  closing  days  of  the  Forty-fifth  Congress  were  enlivened 
and  embittered  by  irreconcilable  differences  between  the 
two  parties,  which  resulted  in  the  failure  of  passage  of  two  of  the 
great  appropriation  bills  —  the  army  bill,  and  the  legislative, 
executive,  and  judicial  bill.  The  Democratic  majority  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  insisted  on  attaching  to  the  former  bill 
a  repeal  of  the  law  authorizing  the  use  of  the  army  "to  keep  the 
peace  at  the  polls";  and  to  the  latter  bill  a  repeal  of  the  jurors' 
test-oath  law  and  a  repeal  of  the  federal  election  law.  The  Re 
publican  Senate  refused  to  approve  these  "riders."  Conference 
committees  of  the  two  houses  were  unable  to  effect  any  reconcili 
ation,  compromise,  or  recession.  Practically  every  one  was  agreed 
that  the  jurors'  test-oath  law,  which  could  be  invoked  in  the 
South  to  keep  from  a  federal  jury  any  one  who  had  participated 
in  the  least  way  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  ought  to  be  repealed; 
and  doubtless  a  separate  bill  to  that  end  could  easily  have  been 
passed.  But  the  Democrats  were  determined  that  all  their  de 
mands  should  be  accepted  or  none,  and  that,  if  the  Senate  re 
fused  to  yield,  the  appropriation  should  fail  of  passage  and  the 
new  Congress  would  have  to  be  called  in  special  session.  Virtu 
ally,  and  almost  in  so  many  words,  the  Democratic  majority  of 
the  House  said  to  the  Republican  majority  of  the  Senate :  "  You 
must  yield  your  convictions  and  permit  the  abrogation  of  certain 
laws  which  you  approve  and  we  disapprove,  or  we  will  consent 
to  no  appropriations  for  carrying  on  the  Government."  The 
Republican  Senators  could  not  with  self-respect  suffer  such 
attempted  coercion. 

In  vain  it  was  pointed  out,  too,  that  there  was  no  immediate 
urgency  for  the  legislation  which  the  Democrats  so  insistently 
demanded.  Even  if  at  times  in  the  past,  it  should  be  admitted, 
the  authority  to  use  the  army  to  keep  the  peace  at  the  polls 
had  been  abused,  every  one  knew  that  nothing  of  the  sort  had 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  171 

happened  or  would  be  tolerated  under  the  present  Administration. 
In  the  recent  congressional  elections  troops  had  nowhere  been 
heard  of  or  thought  of.  And  suppose  the  federal  election  law, 
providing  for  the  appointment  of  federal  supervisors  and  deputy 
marshals  to  protect  the  purity  of  congressional  elections,  ought 
to  be  repealed,  as  the  Democrats  contended,  there  was  nothing  in 
the  present  posture  of  affairs  to  justify  the  Democrats  in  demand 
ing  its  immediate  repeal  under  pain  of  putting  the  country  to 
the  expense  and  annoyance  of  an  extra  session  of  Congress  or, 
least  of  all,  of  stopping  the  wheels  of  administration.  The  regular 
session  of  the  new  Congress  would  occur  in  ample  time  to  repeal 
or  to  modify  the  law  before  there  would  again  be  occasion  for 
invoking  its  authority. 

In  spite  of  all  common-sense  considerations  the  Democratic 
leaders  stubbornly  adhered  to  their  programme.  It  was  clear 
that  they  were  manoeuvring  for  position  with  reference  to  the 
Presidential  canvass  of  the  following  year.  They  were  hopelessly 
torn  asunder  on  the  financial  issue,  the  men  of  the  East  standing 
steadfast  for  sound  finance  and  the  gold  dollar,  the  men  of  the 
West  and  the  South  prevailingly  affected  by  the  fallacies  of 
greenback  and  silver  propagandists.  They  had  pitifully  failed  to 
establish  the  "great  fraud  issue"  as  a  party  rallying  cry.  But 
freedom  of  elections  —  that  was  a  plea,  they  thought,  in  which 
all  Democrats,  however  much  they  might  differ  on  subjects  of 
larger  practical  importance,  could  heartily  join.  They  even  went 
so  far  at  first  as  to  dispute  the  constitutionality  of  any  federal 
election  law  in  the  face  of  the  explicit  sanction  of  the  Constitu 
tion  *  itself.  Men  might  doubt  the  wisdom  of  the  existing  law, 
might  argue  that  it  had  been  passed  for  partisan  reasons,  and 
had  been  executed  with  partisan  unfairness;  but  that  Congress 
had  the  right,  if  it  chose  to  exercise  it,  to  legislate  on  the  subject 
could  not  seriously  be  questioned.  And  the  country  knew  that  it 
was  the  scandalous  frauds  in  elections  in  New  York  and  other 
great  cities  of  the  North,  quite  as  much  as  the  violent  methods 
employed  in  the  South  to  suppress  or  to  control  the  negro  vote, 
that  had  led  Congress  to  pass  the  law  which  the  Democrats  found 
so  obnoxious.  Even  if  the  law  was  admitted  to  be  constitutional, 
the  Democrats  insisted  that  it  was  not  needed;  for  eighty  years 
1  Article  I,  Section  4. 


172  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

the  country  had  got  on  satisfactorily  without  federal  interference 
with  elections.  They  pointed  to  acknowledged  abuses  in  the 
administration  of  the  law,  arguing  that  in  practice  the  power  it 
gave  to  appoint  any  number  of  deputy  marshals,  all  of  whom  were 
of  the  dominant  party,  had  made  it  principally  an  engine  of 
partisan  effort;  had  made  it  possible  for  the  Republicans  to  pay 
party  workers  out  of  the  national  treasury. 

The  Republicans  retorted  that  the  law  was  made  necessary  by 
Democratic  frauds  on  the  franchise  in  the  North  and  by  Demo 
cratic  violence  to  prevent  the  votes  of  Republicans  in  the  South, 
and  that  the  Democratic  attack  on  the  law  now  was  based  not  so 
much  on  principle  as  on  the  desire  to  make  fraudulent  voting 
easy  in  the  Northern  cities  and  bulldozing  safe  in  the  South.1 
Thus,  crimination  and  recrimination  sharpened  the  debates  in 
Congress  and  produced  ever-growing  rancor  and  virulence  in 
newspaper  discussion.  The  bolder  Democratic  leaders  announced 
that  they  proposed  to  go  forward  till  every  law  placed  on  the 
statute-book  by  the  Republicans  that  grew  out  of  war  conditions 
had  been  swept  away.  They  would  welcome  an  extra  session  if  it 
was  made  necessary  by  the  obstinate  refusal  of  the  Republican 
Senate  to  yield  to  their  just  demands.  It  was  perfectly  proper, 
they  insisted,  that  the  House  of  Representatives,  which  held  the 
purse-strings,  should  deny  supplies  until  there  was  a  "redress 
of  grievances,"  appealing  to  the  false  analogy  of  the  English 
monarchical  system.2  The  new  Congress  would  be  Democratic 

1  Judge  William  Johnston,  of  Cincinnati,  wrote  Mr.  Hayes  (May  15,  1879): 
"Our  journalists  do  not  seem  to  comprehend  all  that  is  involved  in  the  present 
contest,  or  if  they  do,  they  lack  the  power  of  grappling  with  it.   The  practical 
object  of  the  'so-called'  Democrats  is  very  plain.    They  want  to  kill  with  im 
punity  so  many  negroes  as  may  be  necessary  to  frighten  the  survivors  from  the 
polls  in  the  South;  and  without  let  or  hindrance  to  stuff  the  ballot-boxes  of  New 
York  after  the  manner  of  1868.  This  is  plain  enough,  but  there  is  a  deeper  de 
sign.  They  wish  to  extort  from  the  Chief  Executive  a  concession  that  the  Federal 
Government  has  no  power  to  defend  the  federal  elections  from  fraud  and  vio 
lence;  and  as  our  old  friend  Deacon  Storr  said,  when  a  bevy  of  young  ladies  called 
on  him  for  a  subscription  to  the  erection  of  a  Universalist  Church, '  I  'd  see  them 
damned  first.'   If  the  Federal  Government  cannot  defend  the  federal  elections 
against  fraud  and  violence,  neither  can  it  protect  the  treasury  of  the  United 
States,  the  mint,  the  mail,  or  any  other  institution  belonging  to  the  United 
States,  and  we  shall  be  thrown  back  on  the  Buchananian  doctrine  that  while 
nobody  has  a  right  to  destroy  the  Government,  neither  the  Government  nor 
anybody  else  has  a  right  to  defend  it." 

2  "The  grievances  which  the  Commons  sought  to  redress  were  not  those  of 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  173 

in  both  branches.  That  Congress  would  insist  on  the  measures 
now  proposed,  or  the  Government  would  be  left  without  means 
to  support  the  army  or  to  maintain  the  executive  and  judicial 
functions.  This  proclamation  of  policy  was  a  virtual  threat  of 
revolution.  It  meant,  if  successfully  carried  out  and  adhered  to, 
practical  assumption  of  sole  control  of  the  Government  by  the 
House  of  Representatives.  If  the  Senate  must  accept  any  condi 
tion  attached  to  an  appropriation  bill  that  the  House  insisted 
on,  then  the  House  could  dominate  Congress;  and  if  the  Presi 
dent  must  sign  any  appropriation  bill,  whatever  the  legislation 
added  thereto,  or  have  the  Government  come  to  a  standstill, 
then  our  system  of  coordinated  and  independent  powers  was 
at  an  end  and  the  executive  and  judicial  departments  of  the 
Government  were  made  subordinate  to  the  legislative. 

The  Forty-fifth  Congress  terminated  March  4,  1879.  The 
same  day  President  Hayes  issued  a  proclamation  summoning 
the  new  Congress  to  meet  in  special  session  on  March  18.  The 
partisan  debate  in  the  public  prints  in  the  interval  continued  fast 
and  furious.  Leaders  on  both  sides  strove  by  every  argument 
to  win  popular  approval  by  seeking  to  place  the  blame  for  the 
extra  session  on  their  opponents.  The  Republicans  had  the  bet 
ter  of  the  argument,  alike  on  principle  and  on  the  very  practical 
ground  that,  in  any  event,  there  was  no  sense  in  precipitating 
an  extra  session  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  legislation  which  could 
just  as  well  wait  for  the  regular  session.  There  was  much  specu 
lation  as  to  what  the  course  of  the  President  would  be.  He  was 
not  popular  with  the  body  of  his  own  party  because  of  his  man 
ner  of  dealing  with  the  Southern  situation  and  because  of  his 
civil  service  reform  ideas.  Conkling  and  Elaine  and  those  who 

law,  but  of  the  arbitrary  action  of  the  King.  They  asserted  the  right  of  the  people 
against  the  divine  right  of  the  sovereign.  Here,  the  Executive  is  as  much  a 
representative  of  the  people  as  Congress.  He  represents  them  for  four  years,  the 
House  represents  them  for  two,  and  the  Senators  for  six.  No  antagonism  be 
tween  the  different  branches  of  our  Government  is  contemplated  by  the  Con 
stitution;  all  are  expected  to  act  in  harmony,  because  all  represent  the  popular 
will.  Besides,  the  House  of  Commons  sought  to  bring  the  King  to  terms,  not 
by  refusing  appropriations,  but  by  refusing  to  levy  taxes.  The  money,  if  not 
collected,  would  remain  in  the  pockets  of  the  people  and  benefit  them.  Here, 
the  Democrats  purposed  to  have  all  the  taxes  collected  as  usual,  and  then 
prohibit  the  President  from  spending  the  money  for  carrying  on  the  people's 
Government."  (Secretary  Evarts,  in  New  York  Tribune,  July  5,  1879.) 


174  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

followed  their  lead  could  not  forgive  him  for  not  accepting  their 
guidance  and  control.  It  was  the  fashion  to  speak  of  him  as  lack 
ing  in  firmness  and  backbone,  when  those  were  the  very  qualities 
he  had  most  conspicuously  and  consistently  displayed,  both  in 
antagonizing  the  forces  in  his  own  party  that  had  brought  the 
Grant  Administration  into  disrepute,  and  in  enforcing  the  policies 
of  finance  and  of  non-interference  in  the  South  which  he  believed 
to  be  right.  Would  not  the  precedent  of  his  action  in  the  South 
and  his  known  views  in  regard  to  the  proper  use  of  the  army 
incline  him  to  accept  the  entire  Democratic  programme  of  repeal 
legislation?  This  question  would  hardly  have  been  raised  if  men 
had  recalled  what  the  President  had  said,  in  his  annual  message 
of  the  previous  December,  apropos  of  the  congressional  elections 
of  1878,  when  the  evil  methods  adopted  in  certain  parts  of  the 
South  to  suppress  the  colored  vote  were  fresh  in  the  public  mind. 
His  words  then  had  been :  — 

The  permanent  pacification  of  the  country  by  the  complete  protection 
of  all  citizens  in  every  civil  and  political  right  continues  to  be  of  para 
mount  interest  with  the  great  body  of  our  people.  Every  step  in  this 
direction  is  welcomed  with  public  approval,  and  every  interruption  of 
steady  and  uniform  progress  to  the  desired  consummation  awakens 
general  uneasiness  and  widespread  condemnation.  The  recent  congres 
sional  elections  have  furnished  a  direct  and  trustworthy  test  of  the  ad 
vance  thus  far  made  in  the  practical  establishment  of  the  right  of  suf 
frage,  secured  by  the  Constitution  to  the  liberated  race  in  the  Southern 
States.  All  disturbing  influences,  real  or  imaginary,  had  been  removed 
from  all  of  these  States. 

The  three  constitutional  amendments,  which  conferred  freedom  and 
equality  of  civil  and  political  rights  upon  the  colored  people  of  the 
South,  were  adopted  by  the  concurrent  action  of  the  great  body  of  good 
citizens  who  maintained  the  authority  of  the  National  Government 
and  the  integrity  and  perpetuity  of  the  Union  at  such  a  cost  of  treasure 
and  life,  as  a  wise  and  necessary  embodiment  in  the  organic  law  of  the 
just  results  of  the  war.  The  people  of  the  former  slaveholding  States 
accepted  these  results,  and  gave,  in  every  practicable  form,  assurances 
that  the  Thirteenth,  Fourteenth,  and  Fifteenth  Amendments,  and  laws 
passed  in  pursuance  thereof,  should,  in  good  faith,  be  enforced,  rigidly 
and  impartially,  in  letter  and  spirit,  to  the  end  that  the  humblest  citi 
zen,  without  distinction  of  race  or  color,  should,  under  them,  receive  full 
and  equal  protection  in  person  and  property  and  in  political  rights  and 
privileges.  By  these  constitutional  amendments,  the  southern  section  of 
the  Union  obtained  a  large  increase  of  political  power  in  Congress  and 
in  the  Electoral  College,  and  the  country  justly  expected  that  elections 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  175 

would  proceed,  as  to  the  enfranchised  race,  upon  the  same  circumstances 
of  legal  and  constitutional  freedom  and  protection  which  obtained  in  all 
the  other  States  of  the  Union.  The  friends  of  law  and  order  looked  for 
ward  to  the  conduct  of  these  elections,  as  offering  to  the  general  judg 
ment  of  the  country  an  important  opportunity  to  measure  the  degree  in 
which  the  right  of  suffrage  could  be  exercised  by  the  colored  people  and 
would  be  respected  by  their  fellow  citizens;  but  a  more  general  enjoy 
ment  of  freedom  of  suffrage  by  the  colored  people,  and  a  more  just  and 
generous  protection  of  that  freedom  by  the  communities  of  which  they 
form  a  part,  were  generally  anticipated  than  the  record  of  the  elections 
discloses.  In  some  of  those  States  in  which  the  colored  people  have  been 
unable  to  make  their  opinions  felt  in  the  elections,  the  result  is  mainly 
due  to  influences  not  easily  measured  or  remedied  by  legal  protection; 
but  in  the  States  of  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina  at  large,  and  in  some 
particular  congressional  districts  outside  of  those  States,  the  records  of 
the  elections  seem  to  compel  the  conclusion  that  the  rights  of  the  colored 
voters  have  been  overridden,  and  their  participation  in  the  elections  not 
permitted  to  be  either  general  or  free. 

It  will  be  for  the  Congress  for  which  these  elections  were  held  to  make 
such  examinations  into  their  conduct  as  may  be  appropriate  to  deter 
mine  the  validity  of  the  claims  of  members  to  their  seats.  In  the  mean 
while  it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  executive  and  judicial  departments  of 
the  Government,  each  in  its  province,  to  inquire  into  and  punish  viola 
tions  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which  have  occurred.  I  can  but 
repeat  what  I  said  in  this  connection  in  my  last  message,  that  whatever 
authority  rests  with  me  to  this  end  I  shall  not  hesitate  to  put  forth;  and 
I  am  unwilling  to  forego  a  renewed  appeal  to  the  legislatures,  the  courts, 
the  executive  authorities,  and  the  people  of  the  States  where  these 
wrongs  have  been  perpetrated,  to  give  their  assistance  toward  bringing 
to  justice  the  offenders  and  preventing  a  repetition  of  the  crimes.  No 
means  within  my  power  will  be  spared  to  obtain  a  full  and  fair 
investigation  of  the  alleged  crimes  and  to  secure  the  conviction  and  just 
punishment  of  the  guilty. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  principal  appropriation  made  for  the 
Department  of  Justice  at  the  last  session  contained  the  following  clause : 
"And  for  defraying  the  expenses  which  may  be  incurred  in  the  enforce 
ment  of  the  act  approved  February  28,  1876,  entitled  'An  act  to  amend 
an  act  approved  May  30,  1870,  entitled  "An  act  to  enforce  the  rights 
of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  in  the  several  States  of  the  Union, 
and  for  other  purposes, "  'or  any  acts  amendatory  thereof  or  supplement 
ary  thereto." 

It  is  the  opinion  of  the  Attorney-General  that  the  expenses  of  these 
proceedings  will  largely  exceed  the  amount  which  was  thus  provided, 
and  I  rely  confidently  upon  Congress  to  make  adequate  appropriations 
to  enable  the  executive  department  to  enforce  the  laws. 

I  respectfully  urge  upon  your  attention  that  the  congressional  elec 
tions,  in  every  district,  in  a  very  important  sense,  are  justly  a  matter 


176  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

of  political  interest  and  concern  throughout  the  whole  country.  Each 
State,  every  political  party,  is  entitled  to  the  share  of  power  which  is 
conferred  by  the  legal  and  constitutional  suffrage.  It  is  the  right  of  every 
citizen,  possessing  the  qualifications  prescribed  by  law,  to  cast  one  un- 
intimidated  ballot  and  to  have  his  ballot  honestly  counted.  So  long 
as  the  exercise  of  this  power  and  the  enjoyment  of  this  right  are  common 
and  equal,  practically  as  well  as  formally,  submission  to  the  results  of 
the  suffrage  will  be  accorded  loyally  and  cheerfully,  and  all  the  depart 
ments  of  Government  will  feel  the  true  vigor  of  the  popular  will  thus 
expressed.  No  temporary  or  administrative  interests  of  government, 
however  urgent  or  weighty,  will  ever  displace  the  zeal  of  our  people 
in  defense  of  the  primary  rights  of  citizenship.  They  understand  that 
the  protection  of  liberty  requires  the  maintenance,  in  full  vigor,  of  the 
manly  methods  of  free  speech,  free  press,  and  free  suffrage,  and  will 
sustain  the  full  authority  of  Government  to  enforce  the  laws  which  are 
framed  to  preserve  these  inestimable  rights.  The  material  progress  and 
welfare  of  the  States  depend  on  the  protection  afforded  to  their  citizens. 
There  can  be  no  peace  without  such  protection,  no  prosperity  without 
peace,  and  the  whole  country  is  deeply  interested  in  the  growth  and 
prosperity  of  all  its  parts. 

While  the  country  has  not  yet  reached  complete  unity  of  feeling  and 
reciprocal  confidence  .between  the  communities  so  lately  and  so  seriously 
estranged,  I  feel  an  absolute  assurance  that  the  tendencies  are  in  that 
direction  and  with  increasing  force.  The  power  of  public  opinion  will 
override  all  political  prejudices,  and  all  sectional  or  state  attachments, 
in  demanding  that  all  over  our  wide  territory  the  name  and  character 
of  citizen  of  the  United  States  shall  mean  one  and  the  same  thing,  and 
carry  with  them  unchallenged  security  and  respect. 

These  paragraphs  clearly  showed  that  the  President  had  no 
doubt  of  the  duty  of  the  National  Government,  within  its  con 
stitutional  power,  to  guard  the  purity  of  congressional  elections. 
The  individual  State  or  district  is  not  alone  interested  in  who 
shall  represent  it  in  the  Federal  Congress.  All  States  and  all 
districts  are  interested  in  having  every  member  of  Congress  the 
true  representative  and  choice  of  the  free  and  uncontrolled  vote 
of  his  constituency.  If  the  attainment  of  this  desirable  end  can 
best  be  secured  or  forwarded  by  federal  control,  the  Constitution 
gives  its  sanction  to  legislation  for  that  purpose.  It  is  simply  a 
question  of  policy  and  practical  statesmanship,  about  which  men 
may  honestly  differ,  whether  the  entire  conduct  of  congressional 
elections  shall  be  left  to  state  and  local  regulation  and  control, 
or  whether  the  National  Government  shall  exercise  its  right 
to  interfere.  The  Republicans  at  that  period  were  committed 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  177 

conscientiously  to  the  latter  view  and  the  President  was  in  com 
plete  accord  with  his  party's  contention.  The  Democrats  pro 
claimed  their  determination  at  all  hazards  to  return  to  the  old 
practice,  under  which  the  National  Government  refrained  from 
the  exercise  of  any  authority  at  the  polls.  All  the  indications 
pointed  to  a  fierce  contest  when  Congress  should  assemble.  That 
the  President  rightly  apprehended  the  situation  is  proved  by 
the  following  entry  in  his  diary  of  March  9 :  — 

The  Forty-fifth  Congress  adjourned  without  making  provision  for 
the  support  of  the  army  and  for  the  payment  of  the  civil  list.  I  there 
fore  immediately  called  a  special  session  of  the  Forty-sixth  Congress  to 
meet  the  18th  —  two  weeks  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Forty-fifth 
Congress. 

The  appropriation  bills  were  defeated  by  a  disagreement  between  the 
House  and  Senate.  The  House  insisted  on  the  right  to  force  its  views 
on  several  questions  of  general  legislation  upon  the  Senate  by  the  threat 
of  defeating  appropriations  if  the  Senate  did  not  yield.  The  Senate 
adhered  to  its  own  views  —  hence  no  appropriations  for  the  purposes 
named.  Now  the  question  will  come  to  me. 

The  Senate  and  House  in  the  Forty-sixth  Congress,  being  both  Demo 
cratic,  will  insist  on  the  right  to  repeal  the  election  laws,  and  in  case  of 
my  refusal  will  put  the  repeal  on  the  appropriation  bills.  They  will  stop 
the  wheels  —  block  the  wheels  of  Government  if  I  do  not  yield  my  con 
victions  in  favor  of  the  election  laws.  It  will  be  a  severe,  perhaps  a  long 
contest.  I  do  not  fear  it.  I  do  not  even  dread  it.  The  people  will  not 
allow  this  revolutionary  cause  to  triumph. 

In  the  new  Congress  the  Democrats  had  a  clear  majority  of 
eight  in  the  Senate  l  and  of  seven  in  the  House.2  The  latter 
was  considerably  augmented  by  the  Greenback  contingent,  who 
usually  acted  with  the  Democrats.  Mr.  Randall  was  reflected 
Speaker,  and  on  March  19  the  President  sent  to  Congress  the 
following  characteristically  brief  message :  — 

FELLOW  CITIZENS  OF  THE  SENATE  AND  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES: 
The  failure  of  the  last  Congress  to  make  the  requisite  appropriations 
for  legislative  and  judicial  purposes,  for  the  expenses  of  the  several 
executive  departments  of  the  Government,  and  for  the  support  of  the 
army,  has  made  it  necessary  to  call  a  special  session  of  the  Forty-sixth 
Congress. 

The  estimates  of  the  appropriations  needed,  which  were  sent  to 

1  Or  ten,  if  Judge  Davis  is  counted  with  the  Democrats. 
1  The  Tribune  Almanac  gives  this  classification:  Republicans,  130;  Demo 
crats,  149;  Republican  Nationals,  5;  Democratic  Nationals,  7;  Nationals,  2. 


178  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

Congress  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  at  the  opening  of  the  last 
session,  are  renewed,  and  are  herewith  transmitted  to  both  the  Senate 
and  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Regretting  the  existence  of  the  emergency  which  requires  a  special 
session  of  Congress  at  a  time  when  it  is  the  general  judgment  of  the 
country  that  the  public  welfare  will  be  best  promoted  by  permanency 
in  our  legislation  and  by  peace  and  rest,  I  commend  these  few  necessary 
measures  to  your  considerate  attention. 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 

WASHINGTON,  March  19,  1879. 

The  dignity  and  restraint  of  this  utterance,  at  a  time  when 
partisan  feeling  ran  so  high  and  the  public  mind  was  tense  with 
anticipation,  made  an  altogether  favorable  impression  on  the 
country.  The  temptation  must  have  been  great  to  take  cogni 
zance  of  the  rancorous  disagreement  in  which  the  Forty-fifth 
Congress  had  come  to  final  adjournment  and  to  expound  to  Con 
gress  the  President's  views  of  the  controversy.  It  is  easy  to  imag 
ine  what  torrents  of  recital,  reproof,  argument,  and  exhortation 
to  duty  some  of  Mr.  Hayes's  successors  would  have  been  likely 
to  pour  out  upon  Congress.  But  he  contented  himself  with  the 
most  concise  and  colorless  statement  of  the  emergency  requiring 
the  special  session,  whose  existence  he  regretted;  expressed  the 
judgment  that  the  welfare  of  the  country  would  at  that  time  "be 
best  promoted  by  permanency  in  our  legislation  and  by  peace 
and  rest,"  and  commended  to  Congress  action  in  harmony  with 
that  judgment.  It  had  been  better,  doubtless,  for  the  country 
and  for  the  Democratic  party  had  Mr.  Hayes's  counsel  been  fol 
lowed.  But  the  Democrats,  rejoicing  in  the  full  control  of  Con 
gress  for  the  first  time  since  Secession  shattered  their  strength, 
were  eager  to  assert  their  new  power,  and  to  display  to  the 
country  the  quality  of  their  statesmanship. 

They  took  up  the  controversy  where  it  was  left  on  the  4th  of 
March.  At  that  time  announcement  was  made  by  Senator  Beck 
that  the  Democratic  programme  in  the  special  session  would  be 
to  pass  the  repeal  bills  as  separate  measures.  If  these  were  signed, 
the  appropriation  bills  would  at  once  be  passed.  If  they  were 
vetoed,  they  would  again  be  attached  to  the  appropriation  bills, 
and  it  would  "be  for  the  President  to  determine  whether  he 
would  block  the  wheels  of  the  Government  and  refuse  to  accept 
necessary  appropriations  rather  than  allow  the  representatives 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  179 

of  the  people  to  repeal  odious  laws."  It  was  in  much  this  spirit 
of  defiance  and  assertiveness,  though  many  of  the  more  sen 
sible  conservative  Democrats  deprecated  threats  of  a  policy  so 
extreme,  that  the  Democrats  of  Congress  set  about  the  task 
before  them.  The  Democratic  caucus  spent  much  time  in  dis 
cussion,  finally  leaving  to  a  joint  committee,  of  which  Senator 
Thurman  was  made  chairman,  to  determine  on  the  party's 
course  of  conduct.  The  situation  did  not  seem  by  any  means 
so  simple,  nor  the  prospect  of  party  triumph  and  popular  sup 
port  of  their  programme  so  well  assured,  as  their  more  ardent 
and  aggressive  leaders  had  been  stridently  proclaiming.  At 
last  it  was  decided  to  abandon  the  plan  outlined  by  Senator 
Beck  and  to  insist  on  attaching  the  measures  in  controversy  to 
the  appropriation  bills  as  had  been  done  in  the  last  Congress.1 
The  first  bill  to  be  pressed  was  the  army  appropriation  bill 
with  its  rider  repealing  the  law  authorizing  the  use  of  the  army 
"to  keep  the  peace  at  the  polls";  preference  being  given  to 
this  bill,  no  doubt,  on  the  theory  that  with  President  Hayes's 
known  aversion  to  the  use  of  soldiers  at  the  polls,  it  was  less 
likely  to  incur  a  Presidential  veto.  This  bill  was  introduced 
March  27.  There  followed  a  long  and  spirited  debate  in  both  the 
House  and  the  Senate,  in  which  the  leading  men  of  both  parties 
participated,  covering  every  phase  of  the  controversy.  It  was 
nearly  a  month  before  the  bill  was  passed  (April  25)  and  reached 
the  President. 

Meanwhile,  not  only  the  matter  of  this  bill,  but  all  the  issues 
involved  in  the  Democratic  legislative  programme,  had  been 
the  subject  of  the  President's  solicitous  meditation,  and  of  fre 
quent  discussion  by  him  with  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  and 

1  ''We  are  in  the  midst  of  another  revolutionary  movement.  It  is  not  unlike 
the  Potter  affair.  Already  there  are  signs  of  weakening  in  the  camp  of  the  ring 
leaders.  But  the  speeches  of  last  session  by  Beck  and  Thurman  have  committed 
the  Senate,  and  the  less  pronounced  serenade  speeches  of  Randall  and  Black 
burn  embarrass  them.  Otherwise  there  would  be  an  instant  letting  down.  As 
it  is,  we  may  have  a  protracted  struggle.  Of  course  I  don't  believe  in  test  oaths, 
and  do  not  care  to  use  the  military.  But  the  state  rights  heresy  that  the  nation 
cannot  enact  safeguards  for  national  elections,  and  the  still  more  dangerous  doc 
trine  that  a  bare  majority  in  the  two  houses  can  absorb  all  the  powers  of  all  the 
departments  of  the  government  cannot  be  under  any  conceivable  circumstances 
approved  when  embodied  in  legislation."  (From  letter,  written  by  Mr.  Hayes, 
March  27,  1879,  to  William  Henry  Smith.) 


180  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

other  leaders  of  the  party.  All  this  had  only  served  to  clarify  and 
confirm  his  almost  instinctive  conviction  of  the  duty  incumbent 
upon  him.  The  Constitution  makes  the  President  a  part  of  the 
lawmaking  power.  Every  bill  passed  by  the  two  houses  of  Con 
gress  before  it  becomes  a  law  must  be  submitted  to  him.  "  If  he 
approve  he  shall  sign  it;  but  if  not  he  shall  return  it,  with  his 
objections,  to  the  house  in  which  it  shall  have  originated."  Then, 
unless  on  reconsideration  two  thirds  of  each  house  vote  to  pass 
the  bill,  it  cannot  become  a  law.  Now,  it  was  evident  that  the 
Democrats,  by  attaching  to  appropriation  bills  legislation  which 
the  President  did  not  approve,  or  which  they  suspected  he  did 
not  approve,  were  seeking  to  force  him,  as  in  the  Forty -fifth 
Congress  the  Democrats  of  the  House  had  sought  to  exercise 
similar  coercion  on  the  Senate,  to  surrender  his  constitutional 
prerogative  on  pain  of  a  stoppage  of  the  necessary  supplies.  The 
right  to  veto  any  bill  that  the  President  does  not  approve  is 
plenary.  The  talk  about  denying  supplies  until  there  should  be  a 
redress  of  grievances  after  the  manner  of  the  British  Parliament 
was  idle,  inasmuch  as  under  our  constitutional  system  the  Presi 
dent  is  quite  as  much  the  representative  of  the  people  as  is  Con 
gress.  For  Congress  to  seek  by  threats  or  coercive  action  to  do 
by  a  bare  majority  what  it  has  only  the  constitutional  right  to 
do  by  a  two-thirds  vote  is  a  virtual  usurpation  of  authority,  an 
encroachment  on  the  right  and  power  of  the  Executive.1  It  was 
no  new  thing,  to  be  sure,  to  attach  riders  to  appropriation  bills, 
vicious  as  the  practice  was  generally  admitted  to  be.  Both  parties 
had  engaged  in  it.  But  usually  when  this  had  been  done  Con 
gress  and  the  President  were  in  accord  in  regard  to  the  proposed 
measure,  or  the  advocates  of  the  measure  could  command  a  two- 
thirds  vote  of  both  houses,  and  the  method  had  been  pursued  to 
facilitate  acceptable  legislation,  not  to  force  the  President  to  sign 

1  The  temper  of  leading  Republican  statesmen  is  accurately  reflected  by  the 
following  extract  from  a  letter  to  the  President  by  Senator  Hoar  (May  1,  1879): 
"The  more  I  reflect  on  the  present  condition  of  things,  the  more  I  am  convinced 
that  no  change  in  general  legislation  and  no  intimation  of  willingness  to  make 
any  change  should  be  given  to  the  Democratic  majority  until  after  the  appro 
priation  bills  have  passed  without  condition.  The  present  attitude  is  menace. 
The  extra  session  is  menace;  and  you  cannot  tell  a  man  who  holds  his  clenched 
fist  in  your  face  what  you  will  do  when  he  takes  it  away.  I  am  satisfied  that  this 
is  the  point  on  which  Republicans  are  united  and  that  this  feeling  is  shared  by 
many  wise  and  conservative  Democrats." 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  181 

a  bill  that  he  did  not  approve.  Congress  had  the  undoubted  right 
to  put  any  legislation  it  pleased  in  an  appropriation  bill.  The 
President  might  object  to  the  manner  of  a  bill,  but  unless  he 
disapproved  of  its  matter  he  would  not  be  justified  in  refusing  to 
sign  it.  Mr.  Hayes's  mind  was  clear  on  this  score.  It  was  equally 
clear  that  the  repeal  bill  in  the  form  presented  was  in  itself  ob 
jectionable;  and  all  the  more  so  as  it  implied  a  reassertion  of  the 
extreme  state  rights  doctrine  which  the  war  was  thought  to  have 
utterly  discredited;1  while  the  manner  of  its  adoption  wTas  an 
attack  on  the  independence  of  the  Executive  which  his  duty  to 
the  country  required  him  to  resent. 

Numerous  passages  in  the  diary  during  March  and  April  afford 
convincing  testimony  of  the  vividness  of  Mr.  Hayes's  apprecia 
tion  of  the  crisis  and  of  his  conscientious  endeavor  to  analyze  its 
elements  and  to  give  just  weight  to  conflicting  considerations  of 
their  importance.  A  few  excerpts  will  show  their  quality :  — 

March  18.  —  The  House  organized  to-day  by  electing  Mr.  Randall 
Speaker.  To-morrow  I  will  send  in  my  short  message  to  Congress  in 
special  session.  An  important  struggle  then  begins.  The  Democrats 
will  attempt  by  coercion  of  the  President  to  secure  a  repeal  of  legisla 
tion  which  I  deem  wise  and  important.  This  is  to  place  the  Executive 
"under  the  coercive  dictation"  of  a  bare  majority  of  the  two  houses 
of  Congress.  This  is  a  mode  of  evading  the  constitutional  provision 
as  to  the  President's  participation  in  legislation.  It  is  a  "measure  of 
coercion,"  a  revolutionary  measure. 

I  must  resist  it  to  the  last  extremity  .  .  .  No  precedent  shall  be 
established  with  my  consent  to  a  measure  which  is  tantamount  to  co 
ercion  of  the  Executive.  I  stand  for  "the  equal"  and  constitutional 
"independence  of  the  Executive."  The  independence  of  the  different 
departments  of  the  Government  is  essential  to  the  progress  and  the 
existence  of  good  government. 

Loving  the  order,  the  peace,  the  perpetuity  of  our  institutions,  I 
must  go  on  to  the  end  of  my  term.  .  .  . 

As  to  some  of  the  measures  which  it  is  sought  to  repeal,  I  would 
regard  it  a  duty  to  approve  separate  bills,  framed  in  the  usual  way, 
for  that  purpose.  And  as  to  all  of  them,  I  would  consider  with  favor 

1  George  William  Curtis,  in  Harper  s  Weekly  (May  31),  strongly  stated  the 
prevailing  conservative  opinion:  "The  extra  session  .  .  .  has  revealed  the  Demo 
cratic  party  as  the  champion  of  state  sovereignty  as  against  the  Union,  and  as 
toying  with  revolution  upon  an  utterly  false  cry.  It  has  united  the  Republican 
party  enthusiastically  in  defense  of  the  principle  which  was  established  by  the 
war.  It  has  given  the  Republicans  a  patriotic,  constitutional,  and  conservative 
platform,  upon  which  all  intelligent  citizens  will  gladly  stand." 


182  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

independent  measures  modifying,  amending,  and  improving  them, 
without  impairing  their  efficiency.  But  presented  in  a  way  and  for  the 
purpose  of  coercion,  I  cannot  even  consider  their  merits. 

March  22.  —  The  Democratic  members  of  the  two  houses  of  Congress 
have  held  caucuses,  and  appointed  committees  to  decide  the  course  they 
will  take  as  to  the  measures  which  caused  the  deadlock  between  the 
House  and  Senate  at  the  end  of  the  last  session.  It  now  seems  probable 
that  they  will  put  all  of  their  repealing  measures  into  one  bill  —  a  bill 
which  will  repeal  the  jurors'  oaths,  the  law  authorizing  soldiers  to  keep 
the  peace  at  the  polls,  and  the  law  which  provides  for  the  appointment 
of  deputy  marshals  to  protect  the  polls.  If  presented  to  me  I  should 
probably  feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to  veto  such  a  bill.  The  law  as  to  the  ap 
pointment  of  marshals  to  protect  the  supervisors  and  prevent  violence 
and  fraud  may  require  extensive  modifications.  But  that  there  should 
be  such  officers — officers  as  impartial  as  possible —  is  almost  a  necessity. 
Do  not  the  States  provide  some  such  machinery  for  state  elections?  Is 
mere  supervision  enough?  Do  not  the  States  provide  for  keeping  the 
peace  at  the  polls  at  state  elections?  Should  not  the  nation  do  it  at 
national  elections?  Whatever  force  by  means  of  civil  officers  the  States 
provide  should  be  provided  by  the  nation. 

Experience  has  shown  that  the  protection  and  conduct  of  national 
elections  cannot  safely  be  left  to  the  States.  I  cannot  consent  to  the 
repeal  of  the  election  laws  enacted  by  Congress,  unless  others  equally 
effective  are  substituted.  ...  If  national  military  force  is  not  allowed 
to  keep  the  peace  at  the  polls,  civil  authority  should  be  provided  for 
that  purpose.  .  .  . 

The  principle  of  the  bill  is  a  denial  of  the  right  and  duty  of  the 
nation  to  legislate  for  the  security  of  congressional  elections.  The 
State  may  have  its  military  at  the  polls  and  its  police,  but  the  nation 
is  to  be  powerless.  Or  rather,  the  bill  admits  the  right,  the  duty  and 
the  necessity  for  national  supervision,  but  denies  the  power  to  make  it 
effective. 

March  23.  —  The  Democrats  in  Congress  show  signs  of  receding  from 
their  revolutionary  programme.  They  now  talk  of  trying  to  remove  the 
objectionable  features  in  the  election  laws.  But  the  claim  still  seems 
to  be  all  but  universal  that  the  National  Government  has  no  right  to 
use  force,  either  military  or  civil,  to  protect  the  freedom  of  the  elections. 
The  States  alone  are  to  be  allowed  such  powers.  They  may  have  both 
military  and  police  forces,  but  the  nation  is  to  be  confined  to  mere 
supervision,  observation,  and  the  like.  This  will  not  do.  The  authority 
of  the  National  Government  must  be  maintained. 

The  proposed  compromise  measure  does  not  protect  the  polls  from 
military  interference.  There  may  be  soldiers,  police,  and  the  posse 
comitatus  at  the  polls.  But  they  must  be  under  state  authority.  The 
National  Government  alone  is  forbidden  to  exhibit  force  to  keep  the 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  183 

peace  and  protect  electors.  This  is  not  the  principle  of  the  Constitution. 
This  whole  power  is  expressly  vested  in  the  United  States.  .  .  . 

Suppose  the  President  should  say  I  will  sign  no  bill  on  any  subject  of 
general  legislation  until  the  appropriation  bills  are  passed? 

I  do  not  call  in  question  the  motives  of  those  with  whom  I  am  unable 
to  agree,  but  believing  the  tendency  of  this  bill  is  to  deprive  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  share  in  legislation  which  is  imposed  (conferred)  upon  him 
by  the  Constitution,  I  cannot  approve  it.  The  attempt  to  pass  a  meas 
ure  under  a  menace  that  the  Government  shall  be  stopped  if  the  Presi 
dent  declines  to  yield  his  convictions  of  duty  has  never  yet  succeeded  — 
has  never  before  been  made.  To  consent  to  it  is  to  make  a  radical 
change  in  the  character  of  the  Government.  The  House  of  Representa 
tives,  in  case  this  principle  is  established,  becomes  the  Government. 
With  the  sole  power  to  originate  the  measures  upon  which  the  existence 
of  the  Government  depends,  and  with  the  doctrine  established  that  the 
House  may  legitimately  refuse  to  act  unless  the  other  branches  of  the 
Government  obey  its  commands,  the  House  of  Representatives  will 
become  a  despotism  with  unlimited  power. 

March  £7.  —  I  am  convinced  that  it  is  my  duty  to  exhaust  every 
executive  authority  committed  to  me  by  the  Constitution  and  the 
laws  to  secure  to  every  citizen  having  the  requisite '  qualifications 
the  right  to  cast  one  unintimidated  ballot  and  to  have  it  honestly 
counted. 

These  laws,  framed  as  safeguards  of  honest  elections,  adopted  by 
more  than  two-thirds  majorities  in  both  houses  of  Congress,  approved 
by  the  President,  carried  into  effect  during  the  last  eight  years  in  many 
States,  without  serious  question  of  their  validity  by  any  court  of  the 
United  States,  called  into  action  on  the  application  of  both  political 
parties  in  different  States,  with  a  very  general  conviction  among  the 
people  that  national  laws  are  necessary  to  secure  from  violence  and 
fraud  the  national  elections  —  I  cannot  consent  to  their  absolute  repeal. 
If  national  laws  can  be  framed  which  will  better  secure  impartiality, 
less  expense,  or  greater  efficiency,  I  will  cheerfully  concur  with  Congress 
in  such  legislation.  But  if  it  is  sought  to  repeal  this  or  any  other  legisla 
tion  and  to  obtain  the  approval  of  the  President  by  the  threat  that 
Congress  will  grant  no  supplies  to  carry  on  the  Government  unless  such 
approval  is  had,  I  am  compelled  by  my  convictions  of  duty  to  use  every 
constitutional  authority  (means)  at  my  command  to  prevent  the  repeal 
upon  such  terms. 

Every  measure  should  stand  or  fall  on  its  own  merits.  This  should  be 
the  fundamental  principle  in  legislation. 

March  £8.  —  The  appropriation  bill  for  the  army  was  introduced  into 
the  House  yesterday  in  accordance  with  the  caucus  plan  and  consider 
able  progress  was  made  toward  its  passage.  There  is  tacked  to  it  the 
repeal  of  the  right  to  employ  the  army  to  keep  the  peace  at  elections. 


184  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

I  do  not  regard  the  measure  thus  tacked  to  the  army  appropriation 
bill  as  of  vital  importance.  The  army,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  cannot  and 
will  not  be  used  for  that  purpose.  But  the  measure  is  objectionable.  It 
applies  to  all  elections,  national  as  well  as  state,  and  denies,  therefore, 
the  right  of  the  nation  to  keep  the  peace  at  the  national  elections  which 
by  the  Constitution  are  under  the  national  control,  and  at  the  same 
time  leaves  the  power  to  the  States  to  use  state  troops  at  the  national 
elections.  There  should  be  no  such  discrimination  against  the  national 
authority.  If  the  presence  of  the  military  at  elections  should  be  for 
bidden,  the  prohibition  should  apply  equally  to  all  soldiers  —  to  those 
of  the  States  as  well  as  to  those  of  the  nation.  A  general  and  equal 
measure  framed  to  accomplish  the  purpose  of  preventing  any  soldiers, 
whether  state  or  national,  from  interfering  in  the  elections  would  meet 
my  approval.  .  .  . 

This  repeal  prevents  persons  in  the  civil  service  of  the  United  States 
—  the  civil  as  well  as  the  military  officers  of  the  United  States  —  from 
keeping  the  peace  at  the  polls.  It  is  not  the  military  power  of  the  United 
States  alone,  but  it  is  the  civil  power  also  which  is  to  be  excluded  from 
the  elections. 

The  President's  right  is  to  exercise  his  discretion  and  judgment  upon 
all  bills  presented  to  him,  without  constraint  or  duress  laid  upon  him  by 
a  coordinate  branch  of  the  Government. 

March  29.  —  This  is  a  controversy  which  cannot  and  ought  not  to  be 
compromised.  The  revolutionists  claim  that  a  bare  majority  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  shall  control  all  legislation,  by  tacking  the 
measures  they  can't  pass  through  the  Senate,  or  over  the  President's 
objections,  to  the  appropriation  bills,  which  are  required  to  carry  on  the 
Government.  They  claim  the  right  to  do  this  under  the  Constitution 
and  say  it  is  according  to  the  practice  and  precedents  in  England.  In 
the  presence  of  this  claim  it  is  idle  to  talk  of  compromises  as  to  the  par 
ticular  measures  which  are  used  as  riders  on  the  appropriation  bills. 
These  measures  may  be  wise  or  unwise.  It  is  enough  to  say  in  regard  to 
them,  that,  used  as  they  are  to  establish  a  doctrine  which  overthrows 
the  constitutional  distribution  of  power  between  the  different  depart 
ments  of  the  Government,  and  consolidates  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  the  whole  lawmaking  power  of  the  Government,  and  with  it  the 
judicial  and  executive  authority  as  well,  we  will  not  discuss  or  consider 
them  when  they  are  so  presented.  .  .  . 

Unquestionably  the  true  rule  of  legislation  is  that  each  measure 
should  stand  or  fall  on  its  own  merits.  This  wise  and  salutary  rule  has, 
however,  been  departed  from  so  often,  and  the  practice  has  been  so  long 
established  by  the  action  of  all  parties,  that  I  may  not  now  insist  upon 
its  non-observance  as  a  ground  for  withholding  my  approval  to  bills 
submitted  to  me.  .  .  . 

To  tack  political  legislation  (measures)  to  appropriation  bills  and 
to  threaten  that  no  appropriations  will  be  made  unless  the  political 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  185 

measures  are  approved  is  not  in  my  judgment  constitutional  con 
duct. 

March  31.  —  Mr.  Evarts  regards  the  controversy  as  growing  out  of 
the  wish  of  party  leaders  to  make  issues  for  the  next  Presidential  elec 
tion.  That  the  Democrats  began  it  and  that  the  Republicans  are  now 
in  it.  That  the  Administration  should  keep  out  of  it.  He  does  n't  seem 
to  see  that  it  is  merely  a  new  form  of  the  old  conflict  between  ultra  States' 
rights  and  the  national  doctrines.  The  state  rights  men  are  for  putting 
all  power  in  local  authorities.  We  believe  the  national  authority  should 
be  exerted  to  protect  elections  which  are  national  so  far  [as]  the  Con 
stitution  sanctions.  We  have  none  too  many  safeguards  for  the  elec 
tions.  Mr.  Hoar  agreed  with  me  that  in  the  present  situation  I  may 
properly  veto  any  appropriation  bill  which  contains  political  legislation 
tacked  to  it  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  me  to  approve  it  under  the 
tin-eat  that  otherwise  the  Government  shall  be  stopped  for  want  of 
supplies,  no  matter  what  may  be  the  merits  of  such  legislation.  In  doing 
it  the  history  of  this  extra  session  may  be  given  to  show  the  purpose  of 
the  House  in  attaching  a  political  measure  to  an  appropriation  bill. 
They  mean  to  obtain  and  establish  a  precedent  for  (which  will  lead  to) 
the  consolidation  of  all  of  the  powers  of  the  Government  in  the  hands 
of  a  bare  majority  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

The  present  controversy  is  in  no  sense  partisan,  and  it  is  not  a  ques 
tion  of  race  or  color.  The  old  question  [of]  States'  rights  always  seems 
closely  related  to  sectional  and  race  conflicts,  but  this  is  chiefly  as  a 
reminiscence.  No  present  interest  of  a  sectional  character  is  involved. 
The  laws  concerned  are  mainly  employed  in  the  densely  peopled  regions 
of  the  North. 

The  law  proposed  to  be  repealed  was  passed  by  the  concurrent  action 
of  both  political  parties,  and  became  a  law  by  the  approval  of  President 
Lincoln. 

April  6.  —  The  executive  power  to  approve  or  return  without  ap 
proval,  according  to  the  conscience  and  judgment  of  the  President,  is  a 
trust.  It  can't  be  given  away  without  a  violation  of  official  oath.  It  is 
my  duty  to  guard  as  a  trust  the  powers  conferred  on  the  office  which  has 
devolved  upon  me. 

No  power  denied  to  the  army  by  this  bill  now  belongs  to  the  army. 
If  there  was  doubt  on  this  question  the  Act  of  June  18, 1878,  removed  it. 
The  last  elections  for  members  of  Congress,  and  all  of  the  recent  elec 
tions  in  all  of  the  States,  have  been  held  without,  so  far  as  I  am  in 
formed,  a  single  complaint  even  of  military  interference. 

By  the  time  the  army  bill  was  passed,  Mr.  Hayes  had  his  veto 
message  substantially  completed.  He  added  the  last  paragraph 
the  very  evening  that  the  bill  reached  his  hands,  and  either  read 


186  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

it  or  communicated  its  substance  to  members  of  the  Cabinet, 
who  all  gave  it  their  approval.1  It  was  transmitted  to  Congress 
April  29,  and  was  as  follows :  — 

To  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  :  — 

I  have  maturely  considered  the  important  questions  presented  by 
the  bill  entitled  "An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  support  of  the 
army  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 1880,  and  for  other  purposes," 
and  I  now  return  it  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  which  it  orig 
inated,  with  my  objections  to  its  approval. 

The  bill  provides  in  the  usual  form  for  the  appropriations  required 
for  the  support  of  the  army  during  the  next  fiscal  year.  If  it  contained 
no  other  provisions,  it  would  receive  my  prompt  approval.  It  includes, 
however,  further  legislation,  which,  attached  as  it  is  to  appropriations 
which  are  requisite  for  the  efficient  performance  of  some  of  the  most 
necessary  duties  of  the  Government,  involves  questions  of  the  gravest 
character.  The  sixth  section  of  the  bill  is  amendatory  of  the  statute  now 
in  force  in  regard  to  the  authority  of  persons  in  the  civil,  military,  and 
naval  service  of  the  United  States,  "at  the  place  where  any  general  or 
special  election  is  held  in  any  State."  This  statute  was  adopted  Febru 
ary  25,  1865,  after  a  protracted  debate  in  the  Senate,  and  almost  with 
out  opposition  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  by  the  concurrent  votes 
of  both  of  the  leading  political  parties  of  the  country,  and  became  a  law 
by  the  approval  of  President  Lincoln.  It  wras  reenacted  in  1874  in  the 
Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States  —  sections  2002  and  5528,  which 
are  as  follows :  — 

"SEC.  2002.  No  military  or  naval  officer  or  other  person  engaged  in 
the  civil,  military,  or  naval  service  of  the  United  States  shall  order, 
bring,  keep,  or  have  under  his  authority  or  control  any  troops  or  armed 
men  at  the  place  where  any  general  or  special  election  is  held  in  any 
State,  unless  it  be  necessary  to  repel  the  armed  enemies  of  the  United 
States,  or  to  keep  the  peace  at  the  polls." 

"SEC.  5528.  Every  officer  of  the  army  or  navy,  or  other  person  in 
the  civil,  military,  or  naval  service  of  the  United  States,  who  orders, 

1  "  I  read  my  veto  message  last  evening  to  Judge  Carter.  He  said, '  It  is  all 
gold  —  pure  gold';  'It  will  be  your  great  act,'  and  the  like.  Schurz  and  Devens 
approved  of  it  decidedly  after  hearing  it  all  read.  I  told  the  points  of  it  fully 
to  Colonel  Thompson,  and  he  approved.  Sherman,  Key,  and  McCrary  fully 
endorsed  my  general  views  before  the  paper  was  written.  Mr.  Evarts,  on  hear 
ing  my  account  of  it  Saturday  evening,  fully  approved.  I  may  not  call  a  Cabinet 
meeting  to  hear  it.  There  is  betting  and  selling  of  pools  here  and  in  New  York 
on  the  question  whether  I  will  sign  or  veto.  Friendly  Republicans  all  feel  con 
fident  that  I  will  sign.  Hostile  Republicans  profess  to  be  in  doubt,  and  hope  I 
will  sign.  Their  number  is  now  small,  —  only  the  implacables,  —  the  patronage 
brokers."  (Diary,  April  28.)  —  It  is  apparent  that  by  a  slip  of  the  pen  Mr. 
Hayes  wrote  sign  in  the  two  sentences  preceding  the  last  when  he  intended 
to  write  veto. 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  187 

brings,  keeps,  or  has  under  his  authority  or  control  any  troops  or  armed 
men  at  any  place  where  a  general  or  special  election  is  held  in  any  State, 
unless  such  force  be  necessary  to  repel  armed  enemies  of  the  United 
States  or  to  keep  the  peace  at  the  polls,  shall  be  fined  not  more  than  five 
thousand  dollars,  and  suffer  imprisonment  at  hard  labor  not  less  than 
three  months  nor  more  than  five  years." 

The  amendment  proposed  to  this  statute,  in  the  bill  before  me,  omits 
from  both  of  the  foregoing  sections  the  words  "or  to  keep  the  peace  at 
the  polls."  The  effect  of  the  adoption  of  this  amendment  may  be  con 
sidered  — 

First.  Upon  the  right  of  the  United  States  Government  to  use  mili 
tary  force  to  keep  the  peace  at  the  elections  for  members  of  Congress; 
and  — 

Second.  Upon  the  right  of  the  Government,  by  civil  authority,  to 
protect  these  elections  from  violence  and  fraud. 

In  addition  to  the  sections  of  the  statute  above  quoted,  the  following 
provisions  of  law  relating  to  the  use  of  the  military  power  at  the  elections 
are  now  in  force.  [The  sections  cited  by  the  President  were  2003  and 
5529-5532  inclusive.] 

The  foregoing  enactments  would  seem  to  be  sufficient  to  prevent  mili 
tary  interference  with  the  elections.  But  the  last  Congress,  to  remove  all 
apprehension  of  such  interference,  added  to  this  body  of  law:  section 
15  of  an  act  entitled  "An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  support  of 
the  army  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1879,  and  for  other  pur 
poses,"  approved  June  18,  1878,  which  is  as  follows.  [This  section, 
which  is  omitted  here,  forbade  the  use  of  any  part  of  the  army  as  a  posse 
comitatus.] 

This  act  passed  the  Senate,  after  full  consideration,  without  a  single 
vote  recorded  against  it  on  its  final  passage,  and,  by  a  majority  of  more 
than  two  thirds,  it  was  concurred  in  by  the  House  of  Representatives. 

The  purpose  of  the  section  quoted  was  stated  in  the  Senate  by  one  of 
its  supporters  as  follows :  — 

"Therefore  I  hope,  without  getting  into  any  controversy  about  the 
past,  but  acting  wisely  for  the  future,  that  we  shall  take  away  the  idea 
that  the  army  can  be  used  by  a  general  or  special  deputy  marshal,  or 
any  marshal,  merely  for  election  purposes  as  a  posse,  ordering  them 
about  the  polls  or  ordering  them  anywhere  else,  when  there  is  no  elec 
tion  going  on,  to  prevent  disorders  or  to  suppress  disturbances  that 
should  be  suppressed  by  the  peace  officers  of  the  State,  or,  if  they  must 
bring  others  to  their  aid,  they  should  summon  the  unorganized  citizens, 
and  not  summon  the  officers  and  men  of  the  army  as  a  posse  comitatus 
to  quell  disorders,  and  thus  get  up  a  feeling  which  will  be  disastrous  to 
peace  among  the  people  of  the  country." 

In  the  House  of  Representatives  the  object  of  the  Act  of  1878  was 
stated  by  the  gentleman  who  had  it  in  charge  in  similar  terms.  He 
said.  [Quotation  here  is  omitted.] 

From  this  brief  review  of  the  subject,  it  sufficiently  appears  that, 


188  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

under  existing  laws,  there  can  be  no  military  interference  with  the  elec 
tions.  No  case  of  such  interference  has,  in  fact,  occurred  since  the  pas 
sage  of  the  act  last  referred  to.  No  soldier  of  the  United  States  has  ap 
peared  under  orders  at  any  place  of  election  in  any  State.  No  complaint 
even  of  the  presence  of  United  States  troops  has  been  made  in  any  quar 
ter.  It  may,  therefore,  be  confidently  stated  that  there  is  no  necessity 
for  the  enactment  of  section  six  of  the  bill  before  me,  to  prevent  military 
interference  with  the  elections.  The  laws  already  in  force  are  all  that  is 
required  for  that  end. 

But  that  part  of  section  six  of  this  bill  which  is  significant  and  vitally 
important,  is  the  clause  which,  if  adopted,  will  deprive  the  civil  authori 
ties  of  the  United  States  of  all  power  to  keep  the  peace  at  the  congres 
sional  elections.  The  congressional  elections  in  every  district,  in  a  very 
important  sense,  are  justly  a  matter  of  political  interest  and  concern 
throughout  the  whole  country.  Each  State,  every  political  party,  is 
entitled  to  the  share  of  power  which  is  conferred  by  the  legal  and  consti 
tutional  suffrage.  It  is  the  right  of  every  citizen,  possessing  the  qualifi 
cations  prescribed  by  law,  to  cast  one  unintimidated  ballot  and  to  have 
his  ballot  honestly  counted.  So  long  as  the  exercise  of  this  power  and  the 
enjoyment  of  this  right  are  common  and  equal,  practically  as  well  as 
formally,  submission  to  the  results  of  the  suffrage  will  be  accorded  loy 
ally  and  cheerfully,  and  all  the  departments  of  Government  will  feel  the 
true  vigor  of  the  popular  will  thus  expressed. 

Two  provisions  of  the  Constitution  authorize  legislation  by  Congress 
for  the  regulation  of  the  congressional  elections.  Section  4  of  article  1  of 
the  Constitution  declares : 

"The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for  Senators  and 
Representatives  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State  by  the  Legislature 
thereof;  but  the  Congress  may  at  any  time,  by  law,  make  or  alter  such 
regulations,  except  as  to  the  places  of  choosing  Senators." 

The  Fifteenth  Amendment  of  the  Constitution  is  as  follows :  — 

"SEC.  1.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not 
be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States,  or  by  any  State,  on  account 
of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

"SEC.  2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by 
appropriate  legislation." 

The  Supreme  Court  has  held  that  this  amendment  invests  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States  with  a  new  constitutional  right  which  is  within  the 
protecting  power  of  Congress.  That  right  the  court  declares  to  be 
exemption  from  discrimination  in  the  exercise  of  the  elective  franchise 
on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude.  The  power 
of  Congress  to  protect  this  right  by  appropriate  legislation  is  expressly 
affirmed  by  the  court. 

National  legislation  to  provide  safeguards  for  free  and  honest  elections 
is  necessary,  as  experience  has  shown,  not  only  to  secure  the  right  to 
vote  to  the  enfranchised  race  at  the  South,  but  also  to  prevent  fraudu 
lent  voting  in  the  large  cities  of  the  North.  Congress  has  therefore 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  189 

exercised  the  power  conferred  by  the  Constitution,  and  has  enacted 
certain  laws  to  prevent  discriminations  on  account  of  race,  color,  or 
previous  condition  of  servitude,  and  to  punish  fraud,  violence,  and 
intimidation  at  federal  elections.  Attention  is  called  to  the  following 
sections  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States,  viz. :  — 

Section  2004,  which  guarantees  to  all  citizens  the  right  to  vote  without 
distinction  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

Sections  2005  and  2006,  which  guarantee  to  all  citizens  equal  oppor 
tunity,  without  discrimination,  to  perform  all  the  acts  required  by  law 
as  a  prerequisite  or  qualification  for  voting. 

Section  2022,  which  authorizes  the  United  States  Marshal  and  his 
deputies  to  keep  the  peace  and  preserve  order  at  the  federal  elections. 

Section  2024,  which  expressly  authorizes  the  United  States  Marshal 
and  his  deputies  to  summon  a  posse  comitatus  whenever  they  or  any  of 
them  are  forcibly  resisted  in  the  execution  of  their  duties  under  the  law, 
or  are  prevented  from  executing  such  duties  by  violence. 

Section  5522,  which  provides  for  the  punishment  of  the  crime  of  in 
terfering  with  the  supervisors  of  elections  and  deputy  marshals  in  the 
discharge  of  their  duties  at  the  elections  of  Representatives  in  Congress. 

These  are  some  of  the  laws  on  this  subject  which  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
executive  department  of  the  Government  to  enforce.  The  intent  and 
effect  of  the  sixth  section  of  this  bill  is  to  prohibit  all  the  civil  officers  of 
the  United  States,  under  penalty  of  fine  and  imprisonment,  from  employ 
ing  any  adequate  civil  force  for  this  purpose  at  the  place  where  their 
enforcement  is  most  necessary,  namely,  at  the  places  where  the  congres 
sional  elections  are  held.  Among  the  most  valuable  enactments  to  which 
I  have  referred  are  those  which  protect  the  supervisors  of  federal  elec 
tions  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties  at  the  polls.  If  the  proposed  legisla 
tion  should  become  the  law,  there  will  be  no  power  vested  in  any  officer 
of  the  Government  to  protect  from  violence  the  officers  of  the  United 
States  engaged  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties.  Their  rights  and  duties 
under  the  law  will  remain,  but  the  National  Government  will  be  power 
less  to  enforce  its  own  statutes.  The  States  may  employ  both  military 
and  civil  power  to  keep  the  peace,  and  to  enforce  the  laws  at  state  elec 
tions.  It  is  now  proposed  to  deny  to  the  United  States  even  the  neces 
sary  civil  authority  to  protect  the  national  elections.  No  sufficient  reason 
has  been  given  for  this  discrimination  in  favor  of  the  state  and  against 
the  national  authority.  If  well-founded  objections  exist  against  the 
present  national  election  laws,  all  good  citizens  should  unite  in  their 
amendment.  The  laws  providing  the  safeguards  of  the  elections  should 
be  impartial,  just,  and  efficient.  They  should,  if  possible,  be  so  non- 
partisan  and  fair  in  their  operation  that  the  minority  —  the  party  out 
of  power  —  will  have  no  just  grounds  to  complain.  The  present  laws 
have,  in  practice,  unquestionably  conduced  to  the  prevention  of  fraud 
and  violence  at  the  elections.  In  several  of  the  States,  members  of  differ 
ent  political  parties  have  applied  for  the  safeguards  which  they  furnish. 
It  is  the  right  and  duty  of  the  National  Government  to  enact  and  enforce 


190  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

laws  which  will  secure  free  and  fair  congressional  elections.  The  laws 
now  in  force  should  not  be  repealed  except  in  connection  with  the  enact 
ment  of  measures  which  will  better  accomplish  that  important  end. 
Believing  that  section  six  of  the  bill  before  me  will  weaken,  if  it  does  not 
altogether  take  away,  the  power  of  the  National  Government  to  protect 
the  federal  elections  by  the  civil  authorities,  I  am  forced  to  the  conclu 
sion  that  it  ought  not  to  receive  my  approval. 

This  section  is,  however,  not  presented  to  me  as  a  separate  and  inde 
pendent  measure,  but  is,  as  has  been  stated,  attached  to  the  bill  making 
the  usual  annual  appropriations  for  the  support  of  the  army.  It  makes  a 
vital  change  in  the  election  laws  of  the  country,  which  is  in  no  way  con 
nected  with  the  use  of  the  army.  It  prohibits,  under  heavy  penalties, 
any  person  engaged  in  the  civil  service  of  the  United  States  from  having 
any  force  at  the  place  of  any  election  prepared  to  preserve  order,  to 
make  arrests,  to  keep  the  peace,  or  in  any  manner  to  enforce  the  laws. 
This  is  altogether  foreign  to  the  purpose  of  an  army  appropriation  bill. 
The  practice  of  tacking  to  appropriation  bills  measures  not  pertinent  to 
such  bills  did  not  prevail  until  more  than  forty  years  after  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution.  It  has  become  a  common  practice.  All  parties 
when  in  power  have  adopted  it.  Many  abuses  and  great  waste  of  public 
money  have  in  this  way  crept  into  appropriation  bills.  The  public  opin 
ion  of  the  country  is  against  it.  The  States  which  have  recently  adopted 
constitutions  have  generally  provided  a  remedy  for  the  evil,  by  enacting 
that  no  law  shall  contain  more  than  one  subject,  which  shall  be  plainly 
expressed  in  its  title.  The  constitutions  of  more  than  half  of  the  States 
contain  substantially  this  provision.  The  public  welfare  will  be  pro 
moted  in  many  ways  by  a  return  to  the  early  practice  of  the  Government 
and  to  the  true  principle  of  legislation,  which  requires  that  every  meas 
ure  shall  stand  or  fall  according  to  its  own  merits.  If  it  were  understood 
that  to  attach  to  an  appropriation  bill  a  measure  irrelevant  to  the  gen 
eral  object  of  the  bill  would  imperil  and  probably  prevent  its  final  pas 
sage  and  approval,  a  valuable  reform  in  the  parliamentary  practice  of 
Congress  would  be  accomplished.  The  best  justification  that  has  been 
offered  for  attaching  irrelevant  riders  to  appropriation  bills  is  that  it  is 
done  for  convenience'  sake,  to  facilitate  the  passage  of  measures  which 
are  deemed  expedient  by  all  the  branches  of  Government  which  partici 
pate  in  legislation.  It  cannot  be  claimed  that  there  is  any  such  reason 
for  attaching  this  amendment  of  the  election  laws  to  the  army  appropri 
ation  bill.  The  history  of  the  measure  contradicts  this  assumption.  A 
majority  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  the  last  Congress  was  in 
favor  of  section  six  of  this  bill.  It  was  known  that  a  majority  of  the 
Senate  was  opposed  to  it,  and  that  as  a  separate  measure  it  could  not  be 
adopted.  It  was  attached  to  the  army  appropriation  bill  to  compel  the 
Senate  to  assent  to  it.  It  wras  plainly  announced  to  the  Senate  that 
the  army  appropriation  bill  would  not  be  allowed  to  pass  unless  the 
proposed  amendments  of  the  election  laws  were  adopted  with  it.  The 
Senate  refused  to  assent  to  the  bill  on  account  of  this  irrelevant  section. 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  191 

Congress  thereupon  adjourned  without  passing  an  appropriation  bill  for 
the  army,  and  the  present  extra  session  of  the  Forty-sixth  Congress 
became  necessary  to  furnish  the  means  to  carry  on  the  Government. 

The  ground  upon  which  the  action  of  the  House  of  Representatives  is 
defended  has  been  distinctly  stated  by  many  of  its  advocates.  A  week 
before  the  close  of  the  last  session  of  Congress  the  doctrine  in  question 
was  stated  by  one  of  its  ablest  defenders,  as  follows :  — 

"It  is  our  duty  to  repeal  these  laws.  It  is  not  worth  while  to  attempt 
the  repeal  except  upon  an  appropriation  bill.  The  Republican  Senate 
would  not  agree  to,  nor  the  Republican  President  sign,  a  bill  for  such 
repeal.  Whatever  objection  to  legislation  upon  appropriation  bills  may 
be  made  in  ordinary  cases  does  not  apply  where  free  elections  and  the 
liberty  of  the  citizen  are  concerned.  .  .  .  We  have  the  power  to  vote 
money;  let  us  annex  conditions  to  it,  and  insist  upon  the  redress  of 
grievances." 

By  another  distinguished  member  of  the  House  it  was  said :  — 

"The  right  of  the  representatives  of  the  people  to  withhold  supplies 
is  as  old  as  English  liberty.  History  records  numerous  instances  where 
the  Commons,  feeling  that  the  people  were  oppressed  by  laws  that  the 
Lords  would  not  consent  to  repeal  by  the  ordinary  methods  of  legisla 
tion,  obtained  redress  at  last  by  refusing  appropriations  unless  accom 
panied  by  relief  measures." 

That  a  question  of  the  gravest  magnitude,  and  new  in  this  country, 
was  raised  by  this  course  of  proceeding,  was  fully  recognized  also  by  its 
defenders  in  the  Senate.  It  was  said  by  a  distinguished  Senator:  — 

"Perhaps  no  greater  question  in  the  form  we  are  brought  to  consider 
it  was  ever  considered  by  the  American  Congress  in  time  of  peace;  for 
it  involves  not  merely  the  merits  or  demerits  of  the  laws  which  the  House 
bill  proposes  to  repeal,  but  involves  the  rights,  the  privileges,  the 
powers,  the  duties  of  the  two  branches  of  Congress  and  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States.  It  is  a  vast  question;  it  is  a  question  whose  im 
portance  can  scarcely  be  estimated;  it  is  a  question  that  never  yet  has 
been  brought  so  sharply  before  the  American  Congress  and  the  American 
people  as  it  may  be  now.  It  is  a  question  which  sooner  or  later  must  be 
decided,  and  the  decision  must  determine  what  are  the  powers  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  under  the  Constitution,  and  what  is  the  duty 
of  that  House  in  the  view  of  the  framers  of  that  Constitution  according 
to  its  letter  and  its  spirit. 

"Mr.  President,  I  should  approach  this  question,  if  I  were  in  the  best 
possible  condition  to  speak  and  to  argue  it,  with  very  grave  diffidence 
and  certainly  with  the  utmost  anxiety,  for  no  one  can  think  of  it  as  long 
and  as  carefully  as  I  have  thought  of  it  without  seeing  that  we  are  at  the 
beginning  perhaps  of  a  struggle  that  may  last  as  long  in  this  country  as  a 
similar  struggle  lasted  in  what  we  are  accustomed  to  call  the  mother 
land.  There  the  struggle  lasted  for  two  centuries  before  it  was  ultimately 
decided.  It  is  not  likely  to  last  so  long  here,  but  it  may  last  until  every 
man  in  this  chamber  is  in  his  grave.  It  is  the  question  whether  or  no  the 


192  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

House  of  Representatives  has  a  right  to  say:  'We  will  grant  supplies 
only  upon  condition  that  grievances  are  redressed.  We  are  the  repre 
sentatives  of  the  taxpayers  of  the  Republic.  We,  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  alone  have  the  right  to  originate  money  bills;  we,  the  House 
of  Representatives,  have  alone  the  right  to  originate  bills  which  grant 
the  money  of  the  people;  the  Senate  represents  States;  we  represent  the 
taxpayers  of  the  Republic;  we,  therefore,  by  the  very  terms  of  the  Con 
stitution,  are  charged  with  the  duty  of  originating  the  bills  which  grant 
the  money  of  the  people.  We  claim  the  right,  which  the  House  of  Com 
mons  in  England  established,  after  two  centuries  of  contest,  to  say  that 
we  will  not  grant  the  money  of  the  people  unless  there  is  a  redress  of 
grievances.' " 

Upon  the  assembling  of  this  Congress,  in  pursuance  of  a  call  for  an 
extra  session,  which  was  made  necessary  by  the  failure  of  the  Forty- 
fifth  Congress  to  make  the  needful  appropriations  for  the  support  of  the 
Government,  the  question  was  presented  whether  the  attempt  made 
in  the  last  Congress  to  engraft  by  construction  a  new  principle  upon  the 
Constitution  should  be  persisted  in  or  not.  This  Congress  has  ample 
opportunity  and  time  to  pass  the  appropriation  bills,  and  also  to  enact 
any  political  measures  which  may  be  determined  upon  in  separate  bills 
by  the  usual  and  orderly  methods  of  proceeding.  But  the  majority  of 
both  houses  have  deemed  it  wise  to  adhere  to  the  principle  asserted  and 
maintained  in  the  last  Congress  by  the  majority  of  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives.  That  principle  is,  that  the  House  of  Representatives  has  the 
sole  right  to  originate  bills  for  raising  revenue,  and  therefore  has  the  right 
to  withhold  appropriations  upon  which  the  existence  of  the  Government 
may  depend  unless  the  Senate  and  the  President  shall  give  their  assent 
to  any  legislation  which  the  House  may  see  fit  to  attach  to  appropriation 
bills.  To  establish  this  principle  is  to  make  a  radical,  dangerous,  and  un 
constitutional  change  in  the  character  of  our  institutions.  The  various 
departments  of  the  Government,  and  the  army  and  the  navy,  are  estab 
lished  by  the  Constitution,  or  by  laws  passed  in  pursuance  thereof.  Their 
duties  are  clearly  defined,  and  their  support  is  carefully  provided  for  by 
law.  The  money  required  for  this  purpose  has  been  collected  from  the 
people,  and  is  now  in  the  Treasury,  ready  to  be  paid  out  as  soon  as  the 
appropriation  bills  are  passed.  Whether  appropriations  are  made  or  not, 
the  collection  of  the  taxes  will  go  on.  The  public  money  will  accumulate 
in  the  Treasury.  It  was  not  the  intention  of  the  f ramers  of  the  Constitu 
tion  that  any  single  branch  of  the  Government  should  have  the  power  to 
dictate  conditions  upon  which  this  treasure  should  be  applied  to  the 
purposes  for  which  it  was  collected.  Any  such  intention,  if  it  had  been 
entertained,  would  have  been  plainly  expressed  in  the  Constitution. 

That  a  majority  of  the  Senate  now  concurs  in  the  claim  of  the  House 
adds  to  the  gravity  of  the  situation,  but  does  not  alter  the  question  at 
issue.  The  new  doctrine,  if  maintained,  will  result  in  a  consolidation  of 
unchecked  and  despotic  power  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  A  bare 
majority  of  the  House  will  become  the  Government.  The  Executive  will 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  193 

no  longer  be,  what  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  intended,  an  equal 
and  independent  branch  of  the  Government.  It  is  clearly  the  constitu 
tional  duty  of  the  President  to  exercise  his  discretion  and  judgment  upon 
all  bills  presented  to  him  without  constraint  or  duress  from  any  other 
branch  of  the  Government.  To  say  that  a  majority  of  either  or  both  of 
the  houses  of  Congress  may  insist  on  the  approval  of  a  bill  under  the 
penalty  of  stopping  all  of  the  operations  of  the  Government  for  want  of 
the  necessary  supplies,  is  to  deny  to  the  Executive  that  share  of  the 
legislative  power  which  is  plainly  conferred  by  the  second  section  of  the 
seventh  article  of  the  Constitution.  It  strikes  from  the  Constitution  the 
qualified  negative  of  the  President.  It  is  said  that  this  should  be  done 
because  it  is  the  peculiar  function  of  the  House  of  Representatives  to 
represent  the  will  of  the  people.  But  no  single  branch  or  department  of 
the  Government  has  exclusive  authority  to  speak  for  the  American  peo 
ple.  The  most  authentic  and  solemn  expression  of  their  will  is  contained 
in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  By  that  Constitution  they 
have  ordained  and  established  a  Government  whose  powers  are  dis 
tributed  among  coordinate  branches,  which,  as  far  as  possible,  consist 
ently  with  a  harmonious  cooperation,  are  absolutely  independent  of 
each  other.  The  people  of  this  country  are  unwilling  to  see  the  suprem 
acy  of  the  Constitution  replaced  by  the  omnipotence  of  any  depart 
ment  of  the  Government. 

The  enactment  of  this  bill  into  a  law  will  establish  a  precedent  which 
will  tend  to  destroy  the  equal  independence  of  the  several  branches  of 
the  Government.  Its  principle  places  not  merely  the  Senate  and  the 
Executive,  but  the  Judiciary  also,  under  the  coercive  dictation  of  the 
House.  The  House  alone  will  be  the  judge  of  what  constitutes  a  griev 
ance,  and  also  of  the  means  and  measures  of  redress.  An  act  of  Congress 
to  protect  elections  is  now  the  grievance  complained  of.  But  the  House 
may  on  the  same  principle  determine  that  any  other  act  of  Congress,  a 
treaty  made  by  the  President,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate, 
a  nomination  or  appointment  to  office,  or  that  a  decision  or  opinion  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  is  a  grievance,  and  that  the  measure  of  redress  is  to 
withhold  the  appropriations  required  for  the  support  of  the  offending 
branch  of  the  Government. 

Believing  that  this  bill  is  a  dangerous  violation  of  the  spirit  and  mean 
ing  of  the  Constitution,  I  am  compelled  to  return  it  to  the  House  in 
which  it  originated  without  my  approval.  The  qualified  negative  with 
which  the  Constitution  invests  the  President  is  a  trust  that  involves  a 
duty  which  he  cannot  decline  to  perform.  With  a  firm  and  conscientious 
purpose  to  do  what  I  can  to  preserve  unimpaired  the  constitutional 
powers  and  equal  independence,  not  merely  of  the  Executive,  but  of 
every  branch  of  the  Government,  which  will  be  imperilled  by  the  adop 
tion  of  the  principle  of  this  bill,  I  desire  earnestly  to  urge  upon  the  House 
of  Representatives  a  return  to  the  wise  and  wholesome  usage  of  the 
earlier  days  of  the  Republic,  which  excluded  from  appropriation  bills  all 
irrelevant  legislation.  By  this  course  you  will  inaugurate  an  important 


194  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

reform  in  the  method  of  congressional  legislation;  your  action  will  be  in 
harmony  with  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
patriotic  sentiment  of  nationality  which  is  their  firm  support;  and  you 
will  restore  to  the  country  that  feeling  of  confidence  and  security  and  the 
repose  which  are  so  essential  to  the  prosperity  of  all  of  our  fellow  citizens. 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 
EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  April  29,  1879. 

The  essential  features  of  the  veto  were:  (1)  That  so  far  as  the 
repeal  related  to  the  use  of  the  army  at  the  polls  it  was  unneces 
sary,  inasmuch  as  the  body  of  laws  already  in  existence,  and 
especially  the  posse  comitatus  law  passed  the  year  before,  was 
amply  sufficient  to  prevent  any  abuse.  The  fact  that  proposed 
legislation  was  unnecessary  might  not  of  itself  justify  a  veto.  But 
(2)  the  elision  of  the  words,  "or  to  keep  the  peace  at  the  polls," 
from  the  two  sections  of  the  law  in  controversy,  while  the  sections 
were  themselves  reenacted,  left  the  law  in  such  shape  that  even 
the  civil  officers  of  the  National  Government  were  forbidden  to 
use  armed  men  at  the  polls  to  suppress  disorder  or  to  enforce 
their  authority.  Thus  civil  officers  of  the  Government  would  be 
stripped  of  necessary  power  to  enforce  federal  laws,  which  the 
obligation  of  their  office,  their  sworn  duty,  required  them  to 
enforce.  Such  paralysis  of  ability  to  enforce  laws  which  he  was 
sworn  to  execute,  the  President  could  not  sanction.  (3)  The  his 
tory  of  this  measure  could  not  be  ignored.  The  objectionable  sec 
tions  were  attached  to  the  army  appropriation  bill,  to  which  they 
were  irrelevant,  on  the  assumption  by  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  that  it  had  the  right  to  withhold  necessary  appropriations, 
"  unless  the  Senate  and  the  President  shall  give  their  assent  to  any 
legislation  which  the  House  may  see  fit  to  attach  to  appropri 
ation  bills."  To  let  this  bill  become  a  law,  therefore,  would  be  to 
"establish  a  precedent  which  would  tend  to  destroy  the  equal 
independence  of  the  several  branches  of  the  Government."  The 
President  could  not  be  true  to  his  sense  of  duty  and  give  his  sanc 
tion  to  such  a  "dangerous  violation  of  the  spirit  and  meaning  of 
the  Constitution." 

The  clear  and  forceful  reasoning  of  the  President,  presented  in 
calm,  dispassionate  phraseology,  was  accepted  as  conclusive  by 
the  sober  sentiment  of  the  country,  already  weary  of  the  acrimo 
nious  debate  in  Washington.  The  Republicans  for  the  moment 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  195 

were  united  in  cordial  support  of  the  President.  Even  the  carp 
ing  of  the  implacables  gave  way  for  the  nonce  to  approbation 
and  praise.  The  Democrats  had  no  right  to  assume  surprise 
at  the  veto.  There  had  been  abundant  warnings  of  what  they 
might  expect.  They,  however,  professed  to  be  aggrieved.  Cha 
grin  would  better  express  their  emotion.  Their  threats  had  not 
frightened  the  President  in  the  least,  and  public  discussion  was 
making  it  clearer  every  day  that  the  overwhelming  sentiment 
of  the  country  would  bitterly  condemn  their  party  if  they  had 
the  hardihood  to  carry  their  threats  into  execution.  But  they 
were  not  ready  as  yet  to  give  up  the  contest.  They  immediately 
framed  and  quickly  passed  a  separate  bill  which  they  thought 
would  save  the  principle  they  were  contending  for  and  would 
be  free  of  the  objections  found  by  the  President  in  the  vetoed 
measure.  This  bill  read  as  follows:  — 

Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  That  it  shall  not  be  lawful  to  bring  to  or  employ, 
at  any  place  where  a  general  or  special  election  is  being  held  in  a  State, 
any  part  of  the  army  or  navy  of  the  United  States,  unless  such  force  be 
necessary  to  repel  the  armed  enemies  of  the  United  States,  or  to  enforce 
Section  4,  Article  4,  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
laws  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  on  application  of  the  Legislature  or 
Executive  of  the  State  where  such  force  is  to  be  used;  and  so  much  of  all 
laws  as  is  inconsistent  herewith  is  hereby  repealed. 

This  bill  likewise  met  with  the  President's  prompt  disapproval, 
in  a  veto  message  of  May  12.1  Avowing  "the  opinion  that  any 
military  interference  whatever  at  the  polls  is  contrary  to  the 
spirit  of  our  institutions,"  declaring  that  "no  soldiers  either  of 
the  Union  or  of  a  State  should  be  present  at  the  polls  "  for  ordi 
nary  police  duty  (a  rule  of  which  there  had  been  and  would  be  no 
violation  under  his  Administration),  the  President  still  saw  in 
this  bill  "a  dangerous  departure  from  long-settled  and  important 
constitutional  principles."  The  sweeping  "prohibition  against 
the  employment  of  military  force  at  the  polls,"  except  in  two 

1  "The  Democrats  have  not  been  conservative  or,  as  I  think,  politically  wise. 
They  have  passed  an  affirmative  new  measure  which  repeals  for  the  day  of  the 
election  many  valuable  laws.  They  call  them  war  measures,  and  seem  to  think 
that  as  the  war  is  ended  these  laws  should  now  be  mustered  out.  We  are  ready 
to  muster  out  the  soldiers,  but  we  don't  muster  out  the  flag  nor  the  powers  of 
the  law  and  of  the  Constitution  which  enabled  us  to  gain  the  victory.  We  don't 
muster  in  again  the  evils  that  caused  the  war.  Besides,  it  is  for  the  victors  to 
say  what  shall  remain  —  not  for  the  vanquished."  (Diary,  May  11,  1879.) 


196  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

specified  cases,  would  "  seriously  impair  the  efficiency  of  the  execu 
tive  department  of  the  Government."  From  the  very  beginning 
of  the  Government  the  President  had  been  authorized  in  certain 
contingencies  to  use  military  force  "to  enforce  the  faithful  execu 
tion  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States."  Now,  to  quote  the  exact 
language  of  the  President :  — 

This  ancient  and  fundamental  law  has  been  in  force  from  the  founda 
tion  of  the  Government.  It  is  now  proposed  to  abrogate  it  on  certain 
days  and  at  certain  places.  In  my  judgment  no  fact  has  been  produced 
which  tends  to  show  that  it  ought  to  be  repealed  or  suspended  for  a 
single  hour  at  any  place  in  any  of  the  States  or  Territories  of  the  Union. 
All  the  teachings  of  experience  in  the  course  of  our  history  are  in  favor  of 
sustaining  its  efficiency  unimpaired.  On  every  occasion  when  the  su 
premacy  of  the  Constitution  has  been  resisted,  and  the  perpetuity  of 
our  institutions  imperilled,  the  principle  of  this  statute,  enacted  by 
the  fathers,  has  enabled  the  Government  of  the  Union  to  maintain  its 
authority  and  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  the  nation. 

At  the  most  critical  periods  of  our  history,  my  predecessors  in  the 
executive  office  have  relied  on  this  great  principle.  It  was  on  this  prin 
ciple  that  President  Washington  suppressed  the  whiskey  rebellion  in 
Pennsylvania  in  1794.  In  1806,  on  the  same  principle,  President  Jeffer 
son  broke  up  the  Burr  conspiracy  by  issuing  "  orders  for  the  employment 
of  such  force,  either  of  the  regulars  or  of  the  militia,  and  by  such  pro 
ceedings  of  the  civil  authorities,  ...  as  might  enable  them  to  suppress 
effectually  the  further  progress  of  the  enterprise."  And  it  was  under  the 
same  authority  that  President  Jackson  crushed  nullification  in  South 
Carolina,  and  that  President  Lincoln  issued  his  call  for  troops  to  save 
the  Union  in  1861.  On  numerous  other  occasions  of  less  significance, 
under  probably  every  Administration,  and  certainly  under  the  present, 
this  power  has  been  usefully  exerted  to  enforce  the  laws,  without  objec 
tion  by  any  party  in  the  country,  and  almost  without  attracting  public 
attention. 

The  great  elementary  constitutional  principle  which  was  the  founda 
tion  of  the  original  statute  of  1792,  and  which  has  been  its  essence  in 
the  various  forms  it  has  assumed  since  its  first  adoption,  is,  that  the  Gov 
ernment  of  the  United  States  possesses  under  the  Constitution,  in  full 
measure,  the  power  of  self-protection  by  its  own  agencies,  altogether 
independent  of  state  authority,  and,  if  need  be,  against  the  hostility  of 
State  Governments.  It  should  remain  embodied  in  our  statutes,  unim 
paired,  as  it  has  been  from  the  very  origin  of  the  Government.  It  should 
be  regarded  as  hardly  less  valuable  or  less  sacred  than  a  provision  of  the 
Constitution  itself. 

There  are  many  other  important  statutes  containing  provisions  that 
are  liable  to  be  suspended  or  annulled  at  the  times  and  places  of  holding 
elections,  if  the  bill  before  me  should  become  a  law.  I  do  not  undertake 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  197 

to  furnish  a  list  of  them.  Many  of  them  —  perhaps  the  most  of  them  — 
have  been  set  forth  in  the  debates  on  this  measure.  They  relate  to 
extradition,  to  crimes  against  the  election  laws,  to  quarantine  regula 
tions,  to  neutrality,  to  Indian  reservations,  to  the  civil  rights  of  citizens, 
and  to  other  subjects.  In  regard  to  them  all,  it  may  be  safely  said,  that 
the  meaning  and  effect  of  this  bill  is  to  take  from  the  general  Govern 
ment  an  important  part  of  its  power  to  enforce  the  laws. 

Another  grave  objection  to  the  bill  is  its  discrimination  in  favor  of 
the  state  and  against  the  national  authority.  The  presence  or  employ 
ment  of  the  army  or  navy  of  the  United  States  is  lawful  under  the  terms 
of  this  bill  at  the  place  where  an  election  is  being  held  in  a  State  to  up 
hold  the  authority  of  a  State  Government  then  and  there  in  need  of  such 
military  intervention,  but  unlawful  to  uphold  the  authority  of  the  Gov 
ernment  of  the  United  States  then  and  there  in  need  of  such  military 
intervention.  Under  this  bill  the  presence  and  employment  of  the  army 
or  navy  of  the  United  States  would  be  lawful,  and  might  be  necessary 
to  maintain  the  conduct  of  a  state  election  against  the  domestic  violence 
that  would  overthrow  it,  but  would  be  unlawful  to  maintain  the  conduct 
of  a  national  election  against  the  same  local  violence  that  would  over 
throw  it.  This  discrimination  has  never  been  attempted  in  any  previous 
legislation  by  Congress,  and  is  no  more  compatible  with  sound  principles 
of  the  Constitution  or  the  necessary  maxims  and  methods  of  our  system 
of  government  on  occasions  of  elections  than  at  other  times.  .  .  . 

Under  the  sweeping  terms  of  the  bill,  the  National  Government  is 
effectually  shut  out  from  the  exercise  of  the  right,  and  from  the  discharge 
of  the  imperative  duty,  to  use  its  whole  executive  power  whenever  and 
wherever  required  for  the  enforcement  of  its  laws  at  the  places  and 
times  where  and  when  its  elections  are  held.  The  employment  of  its 
organized  armed  forces  for  any  such  purpose  would  be  an  offense  against 
the  law  unless  called  for  by,  and  therefore  upon  permission  of,  the  au 
thorities  of  the  State  in  which  the  occasion  arises.  What  is  this  but  the 
substitution  of  the  discretion  of  the  State  Governments  for  the  discre 
tion  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  as  to  the  performance  of 
its  own  duties?  In  my  judgment,  this  is  an  abandonment  of  its 
obligations  by  the  National  Government  —  a  subordination  of  national 
authority,  and  an  intrusion  of  state  supervision  over  national  duties, 
which  amounts,  in  spirit  and  tendency,  to  state  supremacy. 

Though  I  believe  that  the  existing  statutes  are  abundantly  adequate 
to  completely  prevent  military  interference  with  the  elections,  in  the 
sense  in  which  the  phrase  is  used  in  the  title  of  this  bill  and  is  employed 
by  the  people  of  this  country,  I  shall  find  no  difficulty  in  concurring  in 
any  additional  legislation  limited  to  that  object  which  does  not  inter 
fere  with  the  indispensable  exercise  of  the  powers  of  the  Government 
under  the  Constitution  and  laws. 

Meanwhile,  debate  was  proceeding  on  the  legislative,  execu 
tive,  and  judicial  bill  with  its  political  riders.  The  Democrats 


IPS  RlTIIl-RFOUn   lUKaiARD   HAYK> 

had  rtvexled  from  their  original  extreme  position.  They  no  longer 
demanded  the  complete  abrogation  of  the  federal  election  l;n\  ; 
thus  acknowledging  tlio  constitutionality  of  such  legislation. 
\Yhat  they  sought  now  was  so  to  modify  its  terms  as  to  divest  it 
of  vigor  and  etheiency.  Federal  supervision  was  to  remain.  but 
its  function  was  reduced  to  inert*  observation  and  report.  Mr. 
Hayes  was  tinnly  convinced  that  the  law  as  it  existed  should  be 
strengthened  and  not  weakened.1  He  had  indicated  to  Congress 
his  \\illingnesstosiuietion  any  aineiuhneiits  to  the  law  that  should 
make  its  operation  simpler,  more  economical,  and  less  liable  to 
partisan  manipulation.  He  eould  not  approve  changes  that 
wore  equivalent  to  complete  emasculation  of  its  purpose,  and  so 
declared  himself  in.  a  veto  message  of  May  29.  **  If  this  bill  is 
approved,"  he  said,  "only  the  shadow  of  the  authority  of  the 
United  States  at  the  national  elections  will  remain  —  the  sub- 
stanee  v\  ill  be  gone.  The  supervision  of  the  elections  will  be  re- 
duced  to  a  inert*  inspection,  without  authority  on  the  part  of  the 
supervisors  to  do  any  aet  whatever  to  make  the  election  a  fair 
one.  All  that  will  be  left  to  the  supervisors  is  the  permission  to 
have  such  oversight  of  the  elections  as  political  parties  are  in 
the  habit  of  exercising  without  any  authority  of  law,  in  order  to 
prevent  their  opponents  from  obtaining  unfair  advantages.  The 
object  of  the  bill  is  to  destroy  any  control  whatever  by  the 
United  States  over  the  congressional  elections." 

He  showed  the  constitutional  authority  for  federal  election 
laws,  restated  the  reasons  which  had  led  to  their  enactment, 
chief  of  which  was  frauds  in  New  York  City,  and  reached  the 
conclusion  and  climax  of  his  message  in  these  words:  — 

This  bill  recognises  the  authority  and  duty  of  the  United  States  to 

supervisors  to  guarxl  aiul  scrutiui.-e  the  cor.gressior.al  elections. 


»  "My  veto  [of  \Kv  1*1  has  been  weO  received.  I  »m  congratulate!  by  Sena- 
tora  and  Reproacntj^Yw.  and  by  people  of  all  sorts.  I  am  glad  to  b*v«  had  an 
opportunity  to  do  something  for  the  true  principles  of  the  Constitution.  My 
first  veto  maintained  the  prerogative*  of  the  Executive,  and  the  separate  and 
independent  authority  of  each  toadi  ot»  HiJMt  ti*  r«y»t  ••Mti«i  of  the 
Utmrn  of  RmMUKJUUtTfM.  The  second  maintained  the  right  of  the  executive 
branch  to  exercise  power  enough  to  enforce  the  laws,  and  now  I  aiu  likely  on  the 
civil  —  the  fegisUtive,  judicial,  and  executive  —  appropriation  bill,  with  its 
rider  repealing  the  d»ctkm  laws,  to  have  an  opportunity  to  do  something  lor 
purity  and  fairness  in  elections."  (Diary,  May  15.) 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  199 

but  it  denies  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States  all  power  to  make 
its  supervision  effectual.  The  great  body  of  the  people  of  all  parties 
want  free  and  fair  elections.  They  do  not  think  that  a  free  election 
means  freedom  from  the  wholesome  restraints  of  law,  or  that  the  place 
of  an  election  should  be  a  sanctuary  for  lawlessness  and  crime.  On  the 
day  of  an  election  peace  and  good  order  are  more  necessary  than  on  any 
other  day  of  the  year.  On  that  day  the  humblest  and  feeblest  citizens, 
the  aged  and  the  infirm,  should  be,  and  should  have  reason  to  feel  that 
they  are,  safe  in  the  exercise  of  their  most  responsible  duty,  and  their 
most  sacred  right  as  members  of  society,  their  duty  and  their  right  to 
vote.  The  constitutional  authority  to  regulate  the  congressional  elec 
tions  which  belongs  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  which 
it  is  necessary  to  exert  to  secure  the  right  to  vote  to  every  citizen  pos 
sessing  the  requisite  qualifications,  ought  to  be  enforced  by  appropriate 
legislation.  So  far  from  public  opinion  in  any  part  of  the  country  favor 
ing  any  relaxation  of  the  authority  of  the  Government  in  the  protection 
of  elections  from  violence  and  corruption,  I  believe  it  demands  greater 
vigor,  both  in  the  enactment  and  in  the  execution  of  laws  framed  for 
that  purpose.  Any  oppression,  any  partisan  partiality,  which  experi 
ence  may  have  shown  in  the  working  of  existing  laws,  may  well  engage 
the  careful  attention  both  of  Congress  and  of  the  Executive,  in  their 
respective  spheres  of  duty,  for  the  correction  of  these  mischiefs.  As  no 
congressional  elections  occur  until  after  the  regular  session  of  Congress 
will  have  been  held,  there  seems  to  be  no  public  exigency  that  would 
preclude  a  seasonable  consideration  at  that  session  of  any  administrative 
details  that  might  improve  the  present  methods  designed  for  the  protec 
tion  of  all  citizens  in  the  complete  and  equal  exercise  of  the  right  and 
power  of  the  suffrage  at  such  elections.  But  with  my  views,  both  of  the 
constitutionality  and  of  the  value  of  the  existing  laws,  I  cannot  approve 
any  measure  for  their  repeal  except  in  connection  with  the  enactment 
of  other  legislation  which  may  reasonably  be  expected  to  afford  wiser 
and  more  efficient  safeguards  for  free  and  honest  congressional  elec 
tions. 

The  Democrats  were  growing  weary  of  the  contest.  The  im 
patience  and  criticisms  of  the  country  could  not  fail  to  influence 
their  temper.  Nor  could  they  fail  to  perceive  that  the  opportu 
nity  they  had  afforded  to  the  President  and  the  way  he  had  met 
it  had  immensely  increased  his  popularity  and  given  the  Repub 
licans  new  coherence  and  aggressiveness.  They  did  not  have  the 
courage  to  carry  out  —  if  they  ever  really  intended  to  do  so  — 
the  plan  of  refusing  appropriations  unless  they  could  have  their 
way.  They  were  convinced  that  the  President  would  not  yield 
and  that  the  better  sentiment  of  the  country  was  behind  him. 
Now  their  problem  was  to  find  some  way  to  act  that  should  not 


200  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

appear  to  be  a  complete  backdown.1  They  spent  the  rest  of  the 
special  session  in  trying  to  "save  their  face."  First,  they  passed 
the  army  appropriation  bill  without  its  objectionable  rider,  being 
obliged  to  content  themselves  with  an  innocuous  and  practically 
meaningless  proviso  forbidding  the  use  of  the  army  as  a  police 
force  at  the  polls.  This  received  the  President's  prompt  ap 
proval.  Then  they  divided  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
bill  into  two  measures.  The  first  made  appropriations  for  the 
legislative  and  executive  expenses  of  the  Government  in  the 
regular  form.  This  was  passed  and  became  a  law.  The  second 
made  appropriations  for  the  judicial  department.  To  this  were 
attached  riders  repealing  the  jurors'  test-oath  law,  and  forbidding 
the  use  of  any  of  the  money  appropriated  in  executing  the  fed 
eral  election  law.2  Mr.  McMahon,  in  reporting  the  bill  from  the 

1  "It  is  now  reported  that  the  Joint  Democratic  Caucus  Committee  has 
agreed  on  a  plan  of  operations  with  regard  to  the  deadlock.  It  is  in  effect  a  back 
down.   But  it  does  relieve  the  party  to  some  extent  from  its  awkward  predica 
ment.  It  may  in  some  of  its  features  be  quite  as  objectionable  as  former  measures. 
This  will  depend  on  details  which  I  must  carefully  examine.  .  .  . 

"I  probably  could  not  veto  a  bill  merely  because  it  fails  to  make  all  the  ap 
propriations  which  are  required.  I  should  not  oppose  a  bill  which  contains  noth 
ing  but  what  is  right.  If  it  is  not  enough,  and  the  omission  is  important,  I  may 
call  a  special  session  to  supply  the  deficiency.  But  if  their  new  bills  deprive  by 
prohibition  the  Executive  of  authority  which  belongs  to  him  by  existing  laws 
or  constitutional  provisions,  it  will  require  a  veto."  (Diary,  June  2,  1879.) 

"The  Democrats,  instead  of  squarely  backing  out  of  their  awkward  posi 
tion  or  manfully  sticking  to  it,  seem  disposed  to  creep  out  of  it  in  a  way  to  en 
able  them  to  say  that  they  have  gained  something  by  their  contest.  They  can't 
repeal  the  laws  they  object  to.  They  therefore  propose  to  cripple  the  Govern 
ment  in  its  efforts  to  enforce  them  —  to  make  it  impossible  to  enforce  them  — 
to  make  it  unlawful  to  enforce  them.  The  laws  remain  unrepealed.  The  Demo 
cratic  plan  is  to  prevent  their  enforcement."  (Diary,  June  4,  1879.) 

2  "The  judicial  bill  is  the  only  one  I  have  any  doubt  about.  It  leaves  the  elec 
tion  laws  without  the  means  for  their  enforcement.   If  that  was  all,  there  would 
be  no  ground  for  a  veto.  Perhaps  it  goes  further.  I  must  look  into  it.   It  pro 
hibits  any  officer  or  any  department  from  incurring  any  obligation  or  contracting 
any  liability.  This  is  intended  to  nullify  the  law,  leaving  it  unrepealed.  Does  it 
have  that  effect?  May  I  direct  the  marshals  to  appoint  deputies,  notwithstand 
ing  this  provision?  May  the  courts  appoint  supervisors?  May  these  officers  act? 
If  not,  it  amounts  to  a  repeal  of  the  law. 

"No  duty  devolving  on  Congress  is  plainer  than  the  duty  to  provide  the 
necessary  means  by  suitable  appropriations  for  the  enforcement  of  the  laws.  Title 
26  is  in  force.  It  provides  that  —  it  makes  it  the  duty  of  —  certain  officers  to 
make  appointments  of  deputy  marshals  and  supervisors.  The  duties  of  these 
officers  remain.  By  this  bill  it  is  provided  that  they  shall  not  be  performed.  Their 
performance  involves  the  liability  of  the  United  States  to  pay  such  officers.  All 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  201 

Committee  on  Appropriations,  frankly  stated  that  the  purpose 
of  this  prohibition  was  "to  prevent  the  enforcement  of  the  super 
visors  and  deputy-marshals  clauses  of  the  Revised  Statutes." 
Mr.  Hayes  could  no  more  sanction  the  annulment  of  the  federal 
election  laws  by  indirection  than  by  repeal.1  He  could  not  ap 
prove  a  bill  which  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  execute  laws 
which  he  had  sworn  to  execute.  His  veto  message  (June  23) 
declared  his  position  with  convincing  clearness :  — 

Under  the  existing  laws,  the  failure  of  Congress  to  make  the  appro 
priations  required  for  the  execution  of  the  provisions  of  the  election 
laws  would  not  prevent  their  enforcement.  The  right  and  duty  to  ap 
point  the  general  and  special  deputy  marshals  which  they  provide  for 
would  still  remain,  and  the  executive  department  of  the  Government 
would  also  be  empowered  to  incur  the  requisite  liability  for  their  com 
pensation.  But  the  second  section  of  this  bill  contains  a  prohibition  not 
found  in  any  previous  legislation.  Its  design  is  to  render  the  election 
laws  inoperative  and  a  dead  letter  during  the  next  fiscal  year.  It  is 

officers  and  each  department  are  forbidden  to  do  this.  It  is  tantamount  to  a 
repeal  of  the  law  for  this  year. 

"The  execution  of  the  law  is  required  during  the  next  fiscal  year  in  but  a  few 
districts  and  is  of  comparatively  small  importance.  But  it  is  wrong  in  principle." 
(Diary,  June  11,  1879.) 

1  "  The  congressional  contest  with  the  Executive  is  near  its  end  for  the  present. 
The  legislative  bill  is  in  such  a  shape  that  I  can  sign  it  without  a  question.  The 
bill  is  awkwardly  framed,  but  there  is  no  objection  to  the  appropriations  which 
it  contains;  it  can  be  executed,  and  the  fact  that  proper  appropriations  are 
omitted  is  not  a  ground  for  a  veto.  The  army  bill  is  supported  by  the  great 
majority  of  the  Republicans  in  Congress,  by  the  Republican  press,  and  by  the 
Administration.  It  contains  a  clause  which  prevents  the  army  from  being  used 
as  a  police  force  at  the  polls.  The  rule  as  to  the  use  of  the  military  at  elections 
was  stated  by  me  in  the  veto  message  on  the  army  bill.  The  doctrine  there  laid 
down  has  been  received  as  sound  by  the  Republicans  of  the  country,  and  I  think 
also  by  Democrats  generally  who  are  not  blinded  by  the  partisan  excitement  of 
the  time.  It  is  the  business  of  'the  police,'  the  civil  authorities,  to  make  arrests 
of  the  disorderly  and  of  repeaters  and  of  others  guilty  of  violating  the  election 
laws  at  the  polls.  They  will  thus  keep  the  peace  at  the  elections.  The  marshals 
are  authorized  to  appoint  deputies  enough  with  ample  authority  to  do  this  under 
ordinary  circumstances.  If  these  civil  authorities  are  unable  to  do  this  the  mili 
tary  will  aid  them  in  all  cases  —  not  at  all  as  a  police,  but  as  part  of  the  military 
power  of  the  country.  They  may  be  used  whenever  it  is  necessary  to  enforce  the 
laws.  That  is  to  say,  whenever  the  opposition  to  their  enforcement  is  too  power 
ful  for  the  ordinary  police  or  other  civil  officers  to  overcome,  the  military  may 
be  employed  to  suppress  such  opposition.  This  was  the  law  when  Congress  met. 
It  is  the  law  now.  It  has  not  been  changed.  Before  the  assembling  of  the  extra 
session  my  views  were  correctly  published  in  the  Republican  [March  11]  of  this 
city.  The  action  taken  since  by  me  is  in  strict  conformity  with  that  publication." 
(Diary,  June  20.) 


202  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

sought  to  accomplish  this  by  omitting  to  appropriate  money  for  their 
enforcement,  and  by  expressly  prohibiting  any  department  or  officer 
of  the  Government  from  incurring  any  liability  under  any  of  the  provi 
sions  of  title  twenty-six  of  the  Revised  Statutes  authorizing  the  appoint 
ment  or  payment  of  general  or  special  deputy  marshals  for  service  on 
election  days,  until  an  appropriation  sufficient  to  pay  such  liability 
shall  have  first  been  made. 

The  President  is  called  upon  to  give  his  affirmative  approval  to  posi 
tive  enactments  which  in  effect  deprive  him  of  the  ordinary  and  neces 
sary  means  of  executing  laws  still  left  in  the  statute-book,  and  embraced 
within  his  constitutional  duty  to  see  that  the  laws  are  executed.  If  he 
approves  the  bill,  and  thus  gives  to  such  positive  enactments  the  au 
thority  of  law,  he  participates  in  the  curtailment  of  his  means  of  seeing 
that  the  law  is  faithfully  executed  while  the  obligation  of  the  law  and  of 
his  constitutional  duty  remains  unimpaired. 

The  appointment  of  special  deputy  marshals  is  not  made  by  the 
statute  a  spontaneous  act  of  authority  on  the  part  of  any  executive  or 
judicial  officer  of  the  Government,  but  is  accorded  as  a  popular  right  of 
the  citizens  to  call  into  operation  this  agency  for  securing  the  purity  and 
freedom  of  elections  in  any  city  or  town  having  twenty  thousand  inhab 
itants  or  upward.  Section  2021  of  the  Revised  Statutes  puts  it  in  the 
power  of  any  two  citizens  of  such  city  or  town  to  require  of  the  marshal 
of  the  district  the  appointment  of  these  special  deputy  marshals.  There 
upon  the  duty  of  the  marshal  becomes  imperative,  and  its  non-perform 
ance  would  expose  him  to  judicial  mandate  or  punishment,  or  to  re 
moval  from  office  by  the  President,  as  the  circumstances  of  his  conduct 
might  require.  The  bill  now  before  me  neither  revokes  this  popular 
right  of  the  citizens  nor  relieves  the  marshal  of  the  duty  imposed  by  law, 
nor  the  President  of  his  duty  to  see  that  this  law  is  faithfully  executed. 

I  forbear  to  enter  again  upon  any  general  discussion  of  the  wisdom 
and  necessity  of  the  election  laws,  or  of  the  dangerous  and  unconstitu 
tional  principle  of  this  bill,  that  the  power  vested  in  Congress  to  origi 
nate  appropriations  involves  the  right  to  compel  the  Executive  to  ap 
prove  any  legislation  which  Congress  may  see  fit  to  attach  to  such  bills, 
under  the  penalty  of  refusing  the  means  needed  to  carry  on  essential 
functions  of  the  Government.  My  views  on  these  subjects  have  been 
sufficiently  presented  in  the  special  messages  sent  by  me  to  the  House  of 
Representatives  during  their  present  session.  What  was  said  in  those 
messages  I  regard  as  conclusive  as  to  my  duty  in  respect  to  the  bill  before 
me.  The  arguments  urged  in  those  communications  against  the  repeal 
of  the  election  laws,  and  against  the  right  of  Congress  to  deprive  the 
Executive  of  that  separate  and  independent  discretion  and  judgment 
which  the  Constitution  confers  and  requires,  are  equally  cogent  in  oppo 
sition  to  this  bill.  This  measure  leaves  the  powers  and  duties  of  the 
supervisors  of  elections  untouched.  The  compensation  of  those  officers 
is  provided  for  under  permanent  laws,  and  no  liability  for  which  an 
appropriation  is  now  required  would,  therefore,  be  incurred  by  their 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  203 

appointment.  But  the  power  of  the  National  Government  to  protect 
them  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty  at  the  polls  would  be  taken  away. 
The  States  may  employ  both  civil  and  military  power  at  the  elections, 
but  by  this  bill  even  the  civil  authority  to  protect  the  congressional 
elections  is  denied  to  the  United  States.  The  object  is  to  prevent  any 
adequate  control  by  the  United  States  over  the  national  elections  by 
forbidding  the  payment  of  deputy  marshals,  the  officers  who  are  clothed 
with  authority  to  enforce  the  election  laws. 

The  fact  that  these  laws  are  deemed  objectionable  by  a  majority  of 
both  houses  of  Congress  is  urged  as  a  sufficient  warrant  for  this  legis 
lation. 

There  are  two  lawful  ways  to  overturn  legislative  enactments:  One  is 
their  repeal;  the  other  is  the  decision  of  a  competent  tribunal  against 
their  validity.  The  effect  of  this  bill  is  to  deprive  the  executive  depart 
ment  of  the  Government  of  the  means  to  execute  laws  which  are  not 
repealed,  which  have  not  been  declared  invalid,  and  which  it  is,  there 
fore,  the  duty  of  the  executive  and  of  every  other  department  of  the 
Government  to  obey  and  to  enforce. 

I  have,  in  my  former  message  on  this  subject,  expressed  a  willingness 
to  concur  in  suitable  amendments  for  the  improvement  of  the  election 
laws;  but  I  cannot  consent  to  their  absolute  and  entire  repeal,  and  I 
cannot  approve  legislation  which  seeks  to  prevent  their  enforcement. 

Thereupon  a  bill  was  passed  and  approved  providing  for  all 
the  expenses  of  the  judicial  department  except  for  the  payment  of 
the  fees  of  United  States  marshals  and  their  deputies.1  Provision 
for  the  latter  was  made  in  a  separate  bill  in  which  was  embodied 
the  same  prohibition  that  had  caused  the  veto,  June  23,  of  the 
general  judicial  bill.2  The  President  at  once  (June  30)  returned  it 
to  Congress  with  his  disapproval,  emphasizing  the  importance 
of  the  duties  of  marshals  and  briefly  restating  the  reasons  for  his 
action.  He  urged  in  conclusion :  — 

1  The  bill  contained  also  a  repeal  of  the  jurors'  test  oath,  which  practically 
all  parties  favored;  and  a  provision  for  non-partisan  juries. 

2  "  My  fourth  veto  message  at  the  present  session  was  sent  to  the  House  Mon 
day.   It  seems  to  be  well  received  by  party  friends  and  has  certainly  thrown  our 
adversaries  into  the  greatest  confusion.    In  a  vote  yesterday  in  the  House  our 
side,  on  the  question  of  adjournment  without  appropriations,  had  a  majority  of 
22!   Seventeen  Democrats  and  all  of  the  Greenbackers  united  with  our  friends. 

"Judge  Thurman  has  backed  out  of  his  'vast  question'  doctrine,  and  is  one 
of  the  most  urgent  advocates  of  appropriations  without  any  riders !  It  is  not  yet 
decided,  after  several  caucuses,  what  to  do.  But  the  probability  seems  to  be 
that  the  Democrats  will  pass  a  judicial  expenses  [bill]  without  the  objectionable 
section  —  tlie  second  section,  and  also  without  any  provision  for  marshals  or 
their  deputies.  Another  bill  for  the  marshals,  with  the  objectionable  rider  at 
tached,  will  also  be  sent  to  me."  (Diary,  June  25,  1879.) 


204  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

The  object  manifestly  is  to  place  before  the  Executive  this  alterna 
tive  :  Either  to  allow  necessary  functions  of  the  public  service  to  be 
crippled  or  suspended  for  want  of  the  appropriations  required  to  keep 
them  in  operation,  or  to  approve  legislation  which  in  official  communica 
tions  to  Congress  he  has  declared  would  be  a  violation  of  his  constitu 
tional  duty.  Thus,  in  this  bill  the  principle  is  clearly  embodied  that,  by 
virtue  of  the  provision  of  the  Constitution  which  requires  that  "all  bills 
for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the  House  of  Representatives,"  a 
bare  majority  of  the  House  of  Representatives  has  the  right  to  withhold 
appropriations  for  the  support  of  the  Government  unless  the  Executive 
consents  to  approve  any  legislation  which  may  be  attached  to  appropria 
tion  bills.  I  respectfully  refer  to  the  communications  on  this  subject 
which  I  have  sent  to  Congress  during  its  present  session  for  a  statement 
of  the  grounds  of  my  conclusions,  and  desire  here  merely  to  repeat  that, 
in  my  judgment,  to  establish  the  principle  of  this  bill  is  to  make  a 
radical,  dangerous,  and  unconstitutional  change  in  the  character  of  our 
institutions. 

Along  with  this  veto  message  the  President  sent  a  special 
message  to  Congress  urging  "the  immediate  necessity  of  making 
some  adequate  provision"  for  the  payment  of  marshals.  "All 
appropriations,"  he  reminded  Congress,  "to  provide  for  the 
performance  of  these  indispensable  duties  expires  to-day";  and 
he  added:  — 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  look  without  grave  concern  upon  a  state 
of  things  which  will  leave  the  public  service  thus  unprovided  for  and 
the  public  interests  thus  unprotected,  and  I  earnestly  urge  upon  your 
attention  the  necessity  of  making  immediate  appropriations  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  service  of  the  marshals  and  deputy  marshals  for 
the  fiscal  year  which  commences  to-morrow. 

But  Congress  refused  to  act  and  adjourned  on  the  following 
day.  The  Democrats,  who  had  started  out  in  March  with  the 
boast  that  they  would  wipe  all  the  federal  election  laws  off  the 
statute-book  or  block  the  wheels  of  government,  had  been  forced, 
by  the  President's  firmness  and  by  indignant  public  opinion,  to 
recede,  step  by  step,  in  their  efforts  to  make  political  capital  out 
of  the  unnecessary  special  session  they  had  imposed  on  the  coun 
try,  till  when  they  returned  to  their  homes  in  July  they  had 
nothing  to  show  for  all  their  labors  but  the  refusal  to  appropriate 
a  few  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  pay  marshals'  fees.1  Verily, 

1  "Was  there  ever  anything  more  ridiculous?  They  began  by  saying  to  the 
President,  'Sign  our  political  measures  or  we  will  withhold  $46,000,000  of  the 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  205 

the  mountain  had  labored  and  had  brought  forth  according  to 
the  proverb.  The  President  thought  it  hardly  worth  while  to  call 
Congress  together  again  to  supply  the  deficiency  it  had  deliber 
ately  created.  Embarrassing  as  the  situation  was  to  them,  the 
marshals  and  their  deputies  continued  to  perform  their  duties, 
trusting  to  the  future  for  their  pay.  And  their  trust  was  not 
in  vain.1 

The  President  emerged  from  the  long  contest  bearing  all  the 
honors  of  the  successful  maintenance  unimpaired  of  the  executive 
prerogatives,  and  of  the  vindication  of  the  right  of  the  Federal 
Government  to  exercise  plenary  power  in  the  execution  of  its 
own  laws.2  Throughout  the  controversy,  however  rancorous  the 

appropriations  for  running  the  Government.'  'That  does  not  frighten  me,' 
replied  the  President;  '  I  shall  go  ahead  and  do  my  duty  just  the  same.'  'Very 
well,'  said  the  Democrats,  'if  that's  your  intention  we  will  keep  back 
$20,000,000.'  Finding  the  President  still  unmoved,  they  cried  out,  'If  you  don't 
back  down,  we  will  refuse  you  $10.. 000, 000.'  As  this  threat  had  no  effect,  they 
finally  held  back  $600,000  and  ran  away.  It  wras  a  remarkably  well-developed 
case  of  the  small  end  of  the  horn."  (Secretary  Evarts,  in  New  York  Tribune, 
July  5,  1879.) 

1  Proper  provision  was  made  for  the  marshals  and  their  deputies  at  the  next 
session  of  Congress.   There  was  a  prolonged  debate  again  over  the  propriety  of 
federal  election  laws,  and  the  Democratic  majority  first  tacked  a  rider  to  the 
appropriation  bill  modifying  the  law  affecting  the  special  deputy  marshals.  This 
the  President  vetoed  May  4,  1880,  saying:  "I  am  firmly  convinced  that  appro 
priation  bills  ought  not  to  contain  any  legislation  not  relevant  to  the  application 
or  expenditure  of  the  money  thereby  appropriated,  and  that  by  a  strict  adher 
ence  to  this  principle  an  important  and  much-needed  reform  will  be  accomplished. 
Placing  my  objection  to  the  bill  on  this  feature  of  its  frame,  I  forbear  any  com 
ment  upon  the  important  general  and  permanent  legislation  which  it  contains, 
as  matter  for  specific  and  independent  consideration."    Thereupon  Congress 
granted  the  appropriation  without  conditions. 

2  "The  President  has,  it  is  generally  admitted,  been  the  greatest  and  perhaps 
the  only  real  gainer  by  the  tedious  extra  session.    It  has  only  made  him  a  force 
in  his  party.  The  Administration  has  become  in  the  last  three  months  the  head 
of  the  party,  and  though  there  are  still  vigorous  malcontents  like  Blaine  and 
Conkling,  who  stir  up  a  perpetual  revolt  against  the  President  they  put  into  the 
White  House,  Mr.  Hayes  has  now  the  great  body  of  Republican  Representa 
tives  standing  by  him.  .  .  .  There  is  a  growing  impression  among  the  Republi 
cans  that  Mr.  Hayes  is  a  remarkably  cool  hand;  patient,  wary,  not  capable  of 
getting  scared,  a  shrewd  and  long-headed  politician,  and  a  far  wiser  and  safer 
party  leader  than  the  irate  Senators  who  have  vainly  battled  against  him  so 
often."    (Special  correspondence,  Washington,  of  New  York  Herald,  dated  July 
3,  1879.) 

"A  shrewd  observer  in  Washington  said,  at  the  adjournment  of  Congress, 
that  the  President  had  been  the  only  gainer  by  the  extra  session,  and  it  is  un 
doubtedly  true  that  his  clear  and  terse  veto  messages,  temperately  stating  the 


206  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

partisan  debate  in  Congress  and  press  became,  he  preserved  un 
ruffled  dignity  of  demeanor  and  equability  of  temper.  While  his 
veto  messages  presented  his  views  with  utmost  plainness  of 
speech  and  directness  of  argument,  they  were  free  from  bitter 
ness,  or  aspersion  of  motives,  or  denunciation,  being  addressed 
to  the  reason  and  not  to  the  passions  of  men.  At  no  other  time 
during  his  career  was  Mr.  Hayes  the  recipient  of  so  great  popular 
acclaim  and  applause.  All  the  forces  of  his  party  were  for  a  time, 
if  not  enthusiastic,  at  least  cordial,  in  supporting  and  commend 
ing  him.  The  more  intelligent  of  the  Democratic  papers,  like  the 
Louisville  Courier- Journal,  recognized  the  blundering  tactics  of 
the  Democratic  congressional  leaders,  and  saw  that  these  had 
resulted,  not,  as  had  been  hoped,  in  giving  the  party  an  issue, 
but  in  uniting  the  Republican  party  and  in  strengthening  the 
President's  hold  upon  the  conservative  opinion  of  the  country.1 
It  is  no  wonder  that  Mr.  Hayes  felt  deep  satisfaction,  even  ela 
tion  of  spirit,  when  two  days  after  the  adjournment  (July  3)  he 
reviewed  in  his  diary  the  accomplishment  of  the  special  session : — 

I  am  now  experiencing  one  of  the  "ups"  of  political  life.  Congress 
adjourned  on  the  1st  after  a  session  of  almost  seventy-five  days  mainly 

position  of  the  Republican  party  in  the  pending  debate,  have  greatly  enlightened 
the  public  mind,  have  been  of  the  utmost  service  to  the  party,  and  have  deep 
ened  the  general  regard  for  the  Administration.  .  .  .  The  extra  session  is  hardly 
to  be  regretted,  since  it  has  turned  public  attention  to  questions  so  fundamental, 
and  has  given  opportunity  for  so  admirable  a  defense  of  the  sound  American  and 
Republican  principles  as  those  which  the  President  has  maintained."  (George 
William  Curtis,  Harper's  Weekly,  July  26,  1879.) 

1  The  Republicans  were  successful  all  over  the  North  in  the  state  elections  of 
the  following  November,  much  to  the  gratification  of  the  President,  who  felt 
that  his  course  had  been  popularly  approved.  In  his  diary  (November  5)  he 
wrote:  "The  Republican  victory  yesterday  was  complete  everywhere  in  the 
North  except  in  New  York.  In  New  York  we  carry  the  Legislature.  This  secures 
the  election  of  a  Republican  Senator  in  the  place  of  Kernan.  We  also  elect  the 
Governor  by  reason  of  the  bolting  of  the  Tammany  Democrats  who  refused  to 
support  the  nominee  of  Mr.  Tilden  —  Governor  Robinson  —  and  voted  gener 
ally  for  Kelly.  The  remainder  of  the  Republican  state  ticket  is,  I  fear,  beaten. 
[Later  returns  showed  the  election  of  the  rest  of  the  Republican  state  ticket,  with 
a  single  exception,  by  very  small  pluralities.]  Our  full  force  was  not  at  the  polls. 
Many  state  Republicans  opposed  to  machine  politics  were  disgusted  by  the  Conk- 
ling  control  of  the  convention,  and  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Cornell.  I  did  all  I 
could  to  save  the  cause  by  urging  friends  to  lay  aside  their  opposition.  But  there 
was  too  much  Conkling  in  the  ticket.  .  .  .  The  defeat  of  Governor  Robinson  is 
the  defeat  of  Tilden,  and  foreshadows  his  overthrow  next  year,  either  in  the 
Democratic  National  Convention  or  at  the  polls." 


THE  CONTEST  WITH  CONGRESS  207 

taken  up  with  a  contest  against  me.  Five  vetoes,  a  number  of  special 
messages  and  oral  consultations  with  friends  and  opponents  have  been 
my  part  of  it.  At  no  time  —  not  even  after  the  nomination  at  Cincin 
nati  —  has  the  stream  of  commendation  run  so  full.1  The  great  newspa 
pers,  and  the  little,  have  been  equally  profuse  of  flattery.  Of  course  it 
will  not  last.  But  I  think  I  have  the  confidence  of  the  country.  When 
the  Tribune  can  say,  "The  President  has  the  courtesy  of  a  Chesterfield 
and  the  firmness  of  a  Jackson  "  (!),  I  must  be  prepared  for  the  reaction 
ary  counterblast. 

My  convictions  have  been  adhered  to  equally  against  party  friends 
and  foes.  Party  friends  have  insisted  that  I  ought  to  extend  the  veto  (1) 
to  the  repeal  of  the  test  oaths;  (2)  to  the  jury  clauses  which  provide  for 
men  of  opposite  parties  as  officers  to  prepare  the  lists  from  which  juries 
are  to  be  drawn;  and  (3)  to  the  clauses  against  the  use  of  the  army  "as 
a  police"  at  the  polls.  But  I  steadily  resisted,  and  in  the  end  have,  I 
think,  vindicated  the  power  of  the  National  Government  over  congres 
sional  elections,  and  the  separate  authority  of  the  executive  department 
of  the  Government. 

Inasmuch  as  I  stood  firmly  and  successfully  against  the  dictation  of 
my  own  party  leaders  in  the  Senate,  I  have  a  feeling  that  the  applause 
given  to  the  firmness  exhibited  against  the  pretensions  of  the  adversary 
as  to  the  powers  of  a  bare  majority  of  Congress,  is  not  altogether  un 
reasonable. 

1  As  an  indication  of  the  sort  of  commendatory  messages  that  came  to  the 
President  innumerably,  after  each  veto  message  and  at  the  end  of  the  session, 
the  following  excerpt  from  a  letter  written  by  Ben.  Butterworth  (Cincinnati, 
May  14, 1879)  may  be  cited:  "Our  people  here  read  your  last  message  and  Amen 
say  they  all.  Nor  does  this  approval  come  from  Republicans  alone,  but  from  the 
patriotic  conservative  Democrats  as  well.  .  .  .  There  is  but  one  voice  and  that 
is  in  praise  of  your  official  course,  and  is  coupled  with  the  earnest  hope  that  you 
will  stand  firm.  The  country  is  with  you,  —  and  the  war  Democrats  openly  de 
nounce  the  course  of  Congress.  Your  position  touching  the  supremacy  of  the 
nation  is  approved  by  all  Republicans  and  a  large  portion  of  the  Democratic 
party.  You  have  kept  the  faith.  God  grant  you  may  be  guided  in  the  right  way 
in  the  future  as  in  the  past.  The  eyes  of  the  country  are  upon  you.  The  prayers 
of  the  pure  and  patriotic  are  for  you.  I  believe  it  will  be  given  to  you  to  see  the 
right  in  every  contingency.  I  feel  that  this  is  so,  for  the  Republic  is  in  his  care, 
and  as  I  study  your  official  course  I  am  impressed  that  for  the  work  you  are 
doing  you  were  called  by  an  influence  that  too  many  know  little  of.  His  hand  is 
in  it.  Pardon  me  for  saying  this  much  on  the  subject  that  is  nearest  my  heart  — 
the  good  of  my  country." 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

FOREIGN  RELATIONS  —  INDIAN  POLICY,  ETC. 

FEW  subjects  of  large  importance  in  the  foreign  relations  of 
the  Government  demanded  action  or  attention  during  the 
Administration  of  Mr.  Hayes.  For  the  most  part  all  our  dealings 
with  foreign  countries  were  amicable  and  were  conducted  without 
feeling  or  friction.  There  was  much  popular  indignation,  how 
ever,  in  the  first  year  of  Mr.  Hayes's  term  when  the  Halifax  fish 
ery  award  was  announced.  The  commission,  provided  for  by  the 
previous  Administration  to  arbitrate  the  British  demands  for 
recompense  for  fishing  privileges  in  Canadian  waters,  granted  to 
Great  Britain  the  sum  of  $5,500,000.  This  amount  was  felt  by 
America  to  be  grossly  disproportionate  to  the  actual  benefits  that 
American  fishermen  had  enjoyed  for  the  years  in  dispute.  Exam 
ination  of  the  facts  in  the  case,  long  after  the  controversy  passed, 
has  convinced  candid  students  that  the  feeling  was  entirely  just. 
But  having  submitted  the  matter  to  arbitration,  Mr.  Hayes  and 
thefcCabinet  felt  that  the  Government  was  in  duty  bound  to 
accept  the  judgment  of  the  commission,  however  unjust,  unless 
the  British  Government  should  be  willing  to  allow  a  reconsidera 
tion  of  the  case.  Mr.  Evarts  made  a  respectful  but  vigorous  and 
impressive  statement  to  the  British  Government  of  the  American 
contention.  That  Government  refused  to  reopen  the  controversy, 
and  the  sum  awarded  was  duly  appropriated  by  Congress  and 
paid  within  the  time  specified,  though  under  protest.  Probably 
no  American  that  dispassionately  informs  himself  in  regard  to 
the  dispute  and  the  commission's  action  either  doubts  that  sub 
stantial  injustice  was  done  to  this  country  by  the  award  or  fails 
to  acknowledge  that  this  Government  acted  with  large  wisdom  in 
submitting  to  it. 

Of  more  pressing  interest  were  the  strained  relations  that 
existed  for  some  time  with  the  neighboring  Republic  of  Mexico. 
For  many  years  that  country  had  been  torn  with  civil  dissen 
sions.  A  chronic  condition  of  revolution  seemed  to  be  its  normal 


FOREIGN  RELATIONS  209 

state.  From  the  sparsely  settled  regions  of  the  States  along  the 
northern  frontier,  remote  and  difficult  of  access  from  the  capital, 
bands  of  marauders,  many  of  them  Indians,  had  for  years  been 
making  incursions  across  the  Rio  Grande  into  Texas,  harrying 
the  ranches  of  the  cattle-men  and  driving  off  their  herds  across 
the  river.  The  Mexican  national  authorities  were  unwilling  or 
unable  to  prevent  these  wrongs  or  to  make  reparation  therefor; 
and  the  local  authorities  were  evidently  in  more  or  less  open  co 
operation  or  sympathy  with  the  international  bandits.  General 
Porfirio  Diaz  by  a  successful  revolution  in  1876  had  placed  him 
self  at  the  head  of  the  Mexican  Government.  He  had  not  yet 
been  recognized  by  this  Government,  and  he  made  no  effort  to 
improve  conditions  along  the  border.  Finally,  on  the  report  by 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Shafter  of  continued  depredations  by  Mexi 
cans,  the  President  and  his  Cabinet  were  convinced  that  vigorous 
measures  should  be  adopted.  Consequently  orders  were  issued 
June  1,  1877,  to  General  Ord,  commanding  in  Texas,  directing 
him,  at  his  discretion,  to  follow  marauders  across  the  Rio  Grande 
"and  overtake  and  punish  them  as  well  as  retake  stolen  prop 
erty."  This  order  was  indignantly  resented  by  the  Mexicans,  in 
manifold  grandiloquent  pronunciamentos,  as  authorizing  a  war 
like  invasion  of  their  territory.  But,  even  while  protesting  that 
Mexico  would  meet  force  with  force,  General  Diaz  sent  a  Cabinet 
Minister  and  troops  to  the  northern  border  and  an  amicable 
arrangement  was  made  for  cooperation  with  General  Ord  in 
protecting  the  frontier. 

Meanwhile,  the  American  newspapers  were  making  the  border 
difficulties  and  the  order  to  General  Ord  the  news  sensation  of 
the  day.  The  President  was  applauded,  on  the  one  hand,  for 
his  vigorous  policy  to  end  a  condition  which  had  too  long  been 
allowed  to  continue.  On  the  other  hand,  he  was  criticized  for 
overstepping  the  bounds  of  his  authority,  violating  treaty  rights, 
and  making  virtual  war  upon  an  impotent  friendly  power.  It  was 
even  widely  charged  that  the  Administration  was  actuated  by  a 
deep  and  malevolent  purpose  to  provoke  war  with  Mexico  in 
order  to  divert  attention  from  domestic  problems  and  to  bring 
about  the  annexation  to  this  country  of  several  of  the  northern 
States  of  Mexico.  It  made  no  difference  that  any  such  purpose 
was  disavowed  by  the  Administration.  The  wiseacres  were  not 


210  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

to  be  convinced  against  their  own  intuitive  knowledge.  Senator 
Blaine,  still  smarting  at  his  discomfiture  regarding  the  Cabinet 
and  displeased  with  the  President's  settlement  of  the  Southern 
problem,  precipitately  championed  this  view  in  a  speech  on  the 
Fourth  of  July  at  Woodstock,  Connecticut,  professing  himself 
greatly  alarmed  at  the  possibilities  of  the  President's  policy.  "As 
a  comforting  and  consolatory  addendum  to  the  whole  scheme, " 
he  declared,  "we  are  kindly  assured  that  in  no  event  shall  any 
Mexican  territory  be  acquired  or  annexed  to  the  United  States. 
As  in  many  cases  of  similar  design  and  movement,  the  most  im 
portant  feature  may  be  that  which  is  specially  disavowed."  The 
buzz  of  comment  that  this  sinister  utterance  incited  was  short 
lived.  The  President  instantly  declared  he  had  never  been  accus 
tomed  to  that  way  of  dealing  with  individuals  or  with  public 
questions  and  did  not  think  he  should  begin  now.  "There  is 
nothing  secret  or  underhand  in  the  Mexican  policy,"  he  said. 
"The  Administration  found  that  Mexico  is  not  able  to  keep  back 
her  thieves  and  bandits  from  crossing  the  Rio  Grande  and  killing 
and  robbing  our  citizens.  At  all  events,  Mexico  has  failed  to  do 
so.  It  is  the  duty  of  this  Government  to  protect  its  citizens 
against  these  raids."  And  Secretary  Evarts  dismissed  the  inti 
mation  of  duplicity  with  the  laughing  remark  that  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  telling  the  truth  on  all  occasions,  and  was  thus  enabled 
to  conceal  his  sentiments  completely  from  people  who  were  con 
tinually  expecting  diplomatic  deceptions  from  him. 

The  Administration  pursued  its  policy  in  serene  unconcern 
of  hostile  criticism.  During  the  next  few  months  American  troops 
on  several  occasions  crossed  the  Rio  Grande  and  inflicted  con 
dign  punishment  on  fleeing  brigands.  Assurances  by  the  Ameri 
can  Minister  at  the  City  of  Mexico  that  this  action  of  our  soldiers 
had  no  ulterior  purpose  or  design,  but  was  only  incident  to  the 
necessary  protection  of  our  own  people  against  lawless  adven 
turers  whom  the  Mexicans  themselves  could  not  keep  in  check, 
somewhat  appeased  the  flamboyant  indignation  of  the  Mexican 
patriots,  though  their  Government  never  ceased  to  protest 
against  our  Government's  action.  Gradually  the  persistent  activ 
ity  of  our  soldiers  created  wholesome  dread  in  the  breasts  of  the 
marauders,  and  as  President  Diaz  became  better  established  in 
power,  more  efficient  police  control  was  exercised  by  the  Mexicans 


FOREIGN  RELATIONS  211 

along  the  border.  But  not  until  the  last  year  of  his  Adminis 
tration  did  President  Hayes  become  convinced  that  conditions 
justified  the  rescinding  of  the  obnoxious  but  efficacious  order  to 
General  Ord.  The  whole  effect  of  the  policy  had  been  of  immense 
service  in  establishing  order  and  security  along  the  frontier  and 
in  lessening  the  causes  of  friction  between  the  two  countries. 

Meanwhile,  the  anti-Chinese  agitation  on  the  Pacific  Coast 
entered  an  acute  stage.  For  years  the  feeling  had  been  growing, 
especially  in  the  more  densely  peopled  portions  of  California, 
that  unrestricted  immigration  of  Chinese  would  prove  detrimen 
tal  to  the  best  interests  of  America.  Industrious,  frugal,  and 
orderly  though  the  Chinese  were,  yet  they  were  so  alien  in  their 
morals  and  mode  of  life,  so  impossible  of  assimilation  and  absorp 
tion,  that  racial  antagonism  was  sure  to  be  aroused.  No  real 
sympathy  or  mutual  understanding,  indeed,  was  practicable 
between  the  masses  of  the  two  races.  Popular  animosity  against 
the  Chinese  was  constantly  aggravated  by  labor  leaders  and 
political  agitators,  chief  among  whom  was  Dennis  Kearney, 
whose  violent  speeches  in  the  "Sand  Lots"  did  much  to  inflame 
the  public  mind.  The  newspaper  press  contributed  its  share  to 
the  agitation,  discussing  the  subject  from  every  standpoint  of 
reasonable  argument  or  unreasoning  prejudice.  Both  political 
parties  in  California,  in  their  state  platforms,  had  demanded  a 
modification  of  the  existing  treaty  with  China  by  which  the  influx 
of  Chinese  should  be  checked  or  entirely  stopped.  And  the  Cali 
fornia  Constitutional  Convention,  sitting  in  the  early  months  of 
1879,  proposed  to  adopt  severe  repressive  measures.  Moreover, 
the  anti-Chinese  agitation  of  the  Pacific  Coast  had  made  a 
marked  impression  upon  the  sentiment  of  the  whole  country, 
bringing  the  people  generally  to  the  conclusion  that  a  multitu 
dinous  incursion  of  a  race  so  different  in  culture,  morals,  and  re 
ligion  as  the  Chinese  would  be  fraught  with  peril  to  our  institu 
tions  and  our  civilization.  Some  men,  to  be  sure,  like  the  eminent 
William  Lloyd  Garrison  and  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  pleaded  elo 
quently  for  the  continuance  unimpaired  of  the  historic  American 
policy,  that  of  offering  a  welcome  asylum  to  the  oppressed  and 
down-trodden  of  every  race  and  clime.  But  they  were  a  very 
small  minority.  Almost  universally  it  was  felt  that  the  country 


212  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

should  be  preserved  as  the  abode  of  men  of  European  race  or 
strain,  where  a  Christian  civilization  and  republican  institutions 
should  nourish,  uncontaminated  by  Asiatic  ideals  or  customs. 

California  had  sought  by  state  legislation  to  restrict  immi 
gration,  but  its  enactment  had  been  declared  unconstitutional. 
Then  appeals  and  petitions  had  been  presented  to  Congress  urg 
ing  it  to  afford  the  State  relief.  The  Forty-fourth  Congress  so  far 
heeded  these  requests  as  to  adopt  joint  resolutions  asking  the 
President  to  "open  negotiations  with  the  Chinese  Government 
for  the  purpose  of  modifying  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  between 
the  two  countries."  But  nothing  came  of  this  action.  Then  this 
same  Congress  in  1876  sent  a  joint  committee,  of  which  Senator 
Morton  was  chairman,  to  the  Pacific  Coast  to  make  a  thorough 
investigation  of  the  whole  subject  of  Chinese  immigration  and  to 
report  its  conclusions.  The  subject  also  received  attention  that 
year  in  the  national  platforms  of  both  parties;  the  Republicans 
declaring  it  to  be  "the  immediate  duty  of  Congress  to  fully  inves 
tigate  the  effect  of  the  immigration  and  importation  of  Mongo 
lians  upon  the  moral  and  material  interest  of  the  country";  the 
Democrats  denouncing  the  diplomatic  policy  which  had  "ex 
posed  our  brethren  of  the  Pacific  Coast  to  the  incursions  of  a  race 
not  sprung  from  the  same  great  parent  stock,"  and  demanding 
"  such  modification  of  the  treaty  with  the  Chinese  Empire,  or  such 
legislation  within  constitutional  limitations,  as  shall  prevent 
further  importation  or  immigration  of  the  Mongolian  race." 

The  majority  report  of  the  joint  committee  of  investigation 
urged  upon  the  executive  department  the  necessity  of  obtaining 
an  immediate  change  of  the  Burlingame  Treaty  so  as  to  enable 
the  country  to  restrict  or  prevent  further  Chinese  immigration; 
and  the  Forty-fifth  Congress  promptly  passed  a  joint  resolution 
to  similar  purpose.  But  the  people  of  the  Pacific  Coast  were  im 
patient  at  the  slow  processes  of  diplomatic  negotiation,  and  the 
political  leaders  of  both  parties  in  California  were  eager  for  more 
summary  action.  They  had  the  notion  that  whichever  party 
proved  itself  the  more  zealous  against  Chinese  immigration  would 
have  the  better  chance  of  carrying  California  in  the  state  election 
of  1879  and  in  the  Presidential  election  of  the  following  year. 
The  California  Congressmen  were  able  to  impress  their  views  on 
the  majority  of  their  colleagues  and  to  prevail  on  them  in  the 


FOREIGN  RELATIONS 

closing  weeks  of  the  Forty-fifth  Congress  to  attempt  by  congres 
sional  action  to  bring  about  a  virtual  abrogation  of  the  treaty 
with  China.  Under  the  treaty  the  Chinese  had  the  right  of  free 
access  to  our  shores.  The  bill  now  presented  to  Congress  pro 
posed  to  nullify  this  right  by  forbidding  any  shipmaster  to  bring 
more  than  fifteen  Chinese  at  any  one  time  to  America.  It  also 
directed  the  President  to  serve  immediate  notice  on  the  Chinese 
Government  of  the  abrogation  of  articles  5  and  6  of  the  Burlin- 
game  Treaty  —  the  articles  recognizing  "  the  inherent  and  inalien 
able  right  of  man  to  change  his  home  and  allegiance,"  and  pro 
viding  for  the  protection  by  each  country  of  the  natives  of  the 
other  resident  therein  —  as  though  repudiation  of  a  part  of  a 
treaty  by  one  of  the  parties  thereto  were  not  tantamount  to  its 
complete  abrogation.  The  friends  of  the  measure  contended  that 
it  was  entirely  within  the  right  of  Congress  thus  to  annul  or  to 
modify  a  treaty.  But  even  if  that  was  conceded  —  and  it  was 
widely  disputed  except  in  cases  of  gravest  emergency  —  the 
better  sense  of  the  country  was  in  accord  with  Senator  Hamlin  in 
regarding  it  as  an  unmannerly  proceeding;  as,  indeed,  if  not  an 
actual  breach  of  international  good  faith,  a  most  discourteous  or 
even  insulting  mode  of  action;  such  as  would  never  be  thought 
of  in  connection  with  any  treaty  with  a  European  nation.  The 
majority  in  both  houses  of  Congress,  however,  remained  unaf 
fected  by  such  considerations,  plain  though  it  was  from  the  al 
most  universal  voice  of  the  press,  except  in  the  Far  West,  that 
the  public  opinion  of  the  country,  while  recognizing  the  wisdom 
and  necessity  of  restricting  Chinese  immigration,  condemned  the 
unceremonious  violation  by  Congress  of  a  treaty  of  our  own 
seeking.  Eminent  leaders  of  both  parties  in  Congress  championed 
the  measure  and  defended  its  propriety.  Conspicuous  among  the 
number  was  Mr.  Elaine,  thinking,  no  doubt,  of  the  possibilities 
of  the  next  year's  Presidential  election.  President  Hayes  fol 
lowed  the  debate  in  Congress  with  close  attention.  He  was  con 
vinced,  as  he  wrote  in  his  diary  (February  20,  1879),  'that  the 
present  Chinese  labor  invasion  (it  was  not  in  any  proper  sense 
immigration  —  women  and  children  did  not  come)  was  pernicious 
and  should  be  discouraged.  Our  experience  in  dealing  with  the 
negroes  and  Indians  was  not  encouraging.  We  should  oppress 
the  Chinamen,  and  their  presence  would  make  hoodlums  or 


214  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

vagabonds  of  their  oppressors.  He  would,  therefore,  consider  with 
favor  suitable  measures  to  discourage  the  Chinese  from  coming 
to  our  own  shores.  But  he  suspected  this  bill  to  be  inconsistent 
with  our  treaty  obligations.  If  it  violated  the  national  faith  he 
must  decline  to  approve  it.'  Three  days  later  Mr.  Hayes  had  no 
doubt  of  his  duty  hi  the  premises.  He  writes :  — 

The  Chinese  bill  now  likely  to  pass  both  houses  —  has  passed  both, 
but  is  waiting  action  of  the  House  on  Senate  amendments  —  attracts 
much  attention.  As  I  see  it,  our  treaty  with  China  forbids  me  to  give  it 
my  approval.  The  treaty  was  of  our  seeking.  It  was  proposed  by  our 
Minister  to  China  —  Mr.  Burlingame.  He  became  the  Ambassador 
of  China  to  this  country,  and  in  Washington  negotiated  it  with  Mr. 
Seward.  It  was  first  ratified  by  our  Senate  and  sent  to  China  for  ratifi 
cation  there.  It  was  applauded  by  all  parts  of  this  country.  The  Pacific 
Coast  joined  in  this.  It  is  now  claimed  that  it  has  proved  unsatisfactory 
and  pernicious,  and  the  bill  in  question  seeks  to  prevent  the  mischief 
complained  of  by  a  measure  which  violates  its  most  important  provi 
sions.  We  have  accepted  the  advantages  which  the  treaty  gives  us.  Our 
traders,  missionaries,  and  travellers  are  domiciled  in  China.  Important 
interests  have  grown  up  under  the  treaty  and  rest  upon  faith  in  its 
observance. 

One  of  the  parties  to  a  treaty  cannot  rightfully  by  legislation  violate 
it.  When  a  question  of  national  faith  is  involved  we  should  deal  with  all 
nations  on  the  same  principles  —  footing.  We  should  deal  with  China 
precisely  as  we  would  expect  and  wish  other  nations  to  deal  with  us 
under  similar  circumstances.  .  .  . 

Our  countrymen  on  the  Pacific  coast,  with  great  unanimity,  and  with 
the  utmost  earnestness,  desire  a  change  in  our  relations  with  China. 
They  are  entitled  to  have,  and  they  should  have,  our  sympathy  in  this 
matter.  If  we  could  put  ourselves  in  their  places,  it  is  absolutely  certain 
that  we  should  think  and  feel  as  they  do.  We  should  at  once  devise 
appropriate  measures  to  give  them  assurance  of  relief.  This  can  be  done 
long  before  there  is  any  material  increase  of  their  present  difficulties 
without  any  violation  of  the  national  faith,  and  wthout  any  real  or 
substantial  departure  from  our  traditional  policy  on  the  subject  of 
immigration. 

Mr.  Hayes  embodied  these  views  in  a  brief  and  forceful 
veto  message.1  He  had  hardly  completed  its  composition  when 
Mr.  Evarts  submitted  to  him  the  draught  of  a  message  which 
presented  the  objections  to  the  bill  with  greater  detail  and 

1  It  would  have  been  possible  for  the  President,  so  late  was  the  bill  in  reaching 
him,  to  prevent  its  becoming  a  law  by  a  "pocket  veto."  But  he  was  not  at  all 
inclined  to  shirk  responsibility  in  that  manner. 


FOREIGN  RELATIONS  215 

elaboration,  but  no  more  convincingly  or  vigorously.  Mr.  Hayes, 
without  even  revealing  the  fact  that  he  had  himself  prepared 
a  message,  accepted  Mr.  Evarts's  draught  and  made  it  his 
message  to  Congress.  There  is,  of  course,  no  possible  objection 
to  such  a  procedure.  It  has  been  and  must  be  frequently  fol 
lowed  by  men  in  positions  of  high  authority.  This  was,  however, 
the  only  instance  of  its  kind  in  Mr.  Hayes's  career.  Every  other 
state  paper  bearing  his  signature  was  of  his  own  composition. 
Mr.  Evarts  was  somewhat  chagrined  when  some  time  subse 
quently  he  learned  that  he  had  not,  after  all,  anticipated  the 
President. 

The  veto  message  recalled  briefly  the  facts  about  the  negotia 
tion  of  the  original  treaty  with  China  in  1858,  the  main  substance 
of  whose  provisions  was  "to  define  and  secure  the  rights  of  our 
people  in  respect  to  access  to,  residence  and  protection  in,  and 
trade  with  China."  If  greater  rights  or  privileges  were  ever 
granted  to  any  other  nation,  these  should  "at  once  enure  to  the 
benefit  of  the  United  States,  its  public  officers,  merchants,  and 
citizens."  The  Burlingame  Treaty  of  1868,  it  was  pointed  out, 
was  only  supplemental  to  the  original  treaty  and  became  a  part 
of  it.  This  supplement  had  principally  to  do  with  "Chinese  im 
migration  and  the  Chinese  as  forming,  or  as  they  should  form,  a 
part  of  our  population."  The  experience  of  the  last  decade, 
revealing  the  quality  and  effect  of  large  Chinese  immigration, 
might  reasonably  suggest  to  both  Governments  that  "the  simple 
provisions  of  the  Burlingame  Treaty  may  need  to  be  replaced 
by  more  careful  methods,  securing  the  Chinese  and  ourselves 
against  a  larger  and  more  rapid  infusion  of  this  foreign  race  than 
our  system  of  industry  and  society  can  take  up  and  assimilate 
with  ease  and  safety."  But  surely  the  conditions  were  not  such 
as  to  demand  the  peremptory  termination  of  the  treaty  by  act  of 
Congress.  Only  "  some  reason  both  of  the  highest  justice  and  of 
the  highest  necessity"  would  justify  such  procedure.  This  was 
strongly  illustrated  by  the  single  instance  in  our  history  of  such 
action,  when  in  1798  Congress  had  declared  the  treaties  with 
France  abrogated  because,  as  the  preamble  of  the  act  recited, 
these  treaties  had  "  been  repeatedly  violated  on  the  part  of  the 
French  Government,"  reparation  for  injuries  had  been  refused, 
and  efforts  on  our  part  to  "negotiate  an  amicable  adjustment" 


216  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

had  been  "repelled  with  indignity."  Congress,  to  be  sure,  sought 
only  the  abrogation  of  two  clauses  of  the  treaty  with  China. 
But  manifestly  the  modification  of  an  existing  treaty  could  only 
be  made  by  the  treaty-making  power,  which  Congress  under  the 
Constitution  had  no  right  to  exercise.  Even  more  important 
than  that  consideration  was  "the  principle  that  a  denunciation 
of  a  part  of  a  treaty,  not  made  by  the  terms  of  the  treaty  itself 
separable  from  the  rest,  is  a  denunciation  of  the  whole  treaty." 
The  message  ended  with  these  words:  — 

I  am  convinced  that,  whatever  urgency  might  in  any  quarter  or  by 
any  interest  be  supposed  to  require  an  instant  suppression  of  further 
immigration  from  China,  no  reasons  can  require  the  immediate  with 
drawal  of  our  treaty  protection  of  the  Chinese  already  in  this  country, 
and  no  circumstances  can  tolerate  an  exposure  of  our  citizens  in  China, 
merchants  or  missionaries,  to  the  consequences  of  so  sudden  an  abro 
gation  of  their  treaty  protection.  Fortunately,  however,  the  actual 
recession  in  the  flow  of  the  emigration  from  China  to  the  Pacific  Coast, 
shown  by  trustworthy  statistics,  relieves  us  from  any  apprehension  that 
the  treatment  of  the  subject  in  the  proper  course  of  diplomatic  negotia 
tions  will  introduce  any  new  features  of  discontent  or  disturbance  among 
the  communities  directly  affected.  Were  such  delay  fraught  with  more 
inconveniences  than  have  ever  been  suggested  by  the  interests  most 
earnest  in  promoting  this  legislation,  I  cannot  but  regard  the  sum 
mary  disturbance  of  our  existing  treaties  with  China  as  greatly  more 
inconvenient  to  much  wider  and  more  permanent  interests  of  the 
country. 

I  have  no  occasion  to  insist  upon  the  more  general  considerations  of 
interest  and  duty  which  sacredly  regard  the  faith  of  the  nation  in  what 
ever  form  of  obligation  it  may  have  been  given.  These  sentiments  ani 
mate  the  deliberations  of  Congress  and  pervade  the  minds  of  our  whole 
people.  Our  history  gives  little  occasion  for  any  reproach  in  this  regard, 
and  in  asking  the  renewed  attention  of  Congress  to  this  bill,  I  am  per 
suaded  that  their  action  will  maintain  the  public  duty  and  the  public 
honor. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  last  paragraph,  in  view  of  the 
conviction  of  sober-minded  people  that  Congress  in  the  very  act 
vetoed  had  been  disregarding  the  faith  of  the  nation,  was  inter 
preted  by  many  as  conveying  a  covert  rebuke.  The  bill  on  recon 
sideration  still  commanded  a  plurality  of  the  votes  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  but  not  the  necessary  two  thirds,  and  so 
failed  to  become  a  law.  In  all  parts  of  the  country,  except  on 
the  Pacific  Coast,  the  veto  message  received  almost  universal 


FOREIGN  RELATIONS  217 

approbation. l  However  important  it  might  be  to  restrict  Chinese 
immigration,  it  was  vastly  more  important  for  the  country  to  act 
justly  and  decently  in  its  international  dealings.  That  was  the 
prevailing  sentiment  of  the  press  and  of  the  leaders  of  public 
opinion  everywhere  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Mr.  Hayes 
in  the  message  he  himself  wrote  accurately  reflected  the  dominant 
sentiment  as  well  as  his  own  conviction  of  duty  in  this  vigorous 
paragraph:  — 

Let  it  be  admitted  that  the  dangers  apprehended  from  a  longer  con 
tinuance  of  the  Chinese  immigration  require  consideration  and  action, 
they  surely  do  not  require  a  departure  from  the  well-settled  principles 
and  usages  of  nations  in  their  intercourse  with  each  other,  and  in  regard 
to  the  observance  of  treaties.  We  should  deal  with  China  in  this  matter 
precisely  as  we  would  expect  and  wish  other  nations  to  deal  with  us  un 
der  similar  circumstances.  The  peremptory  abrogation  of  a  part  of  this 
treaty  without  negotiation  with  China,  and  without  her  consent,  is  the 
abrogation  of  the  whole.  The  abrogation  of  a  treaty  by  one  of  the  con 
tracting  parties  is  justifiable  only  upon  reasons  both  of  the  highest  jus 
tice  and  of  the  highest  necessity.  To  do  this  without  notice,  without  fix 
ing  a  day  in  advance  when  the  act  shall  take  effect,  without  affording  an 
opportunity  to  China  to  be  heard,  and  without  the  happening  of  any 
grave  or  unforeseen  emergency,  will  be  regarded  by  the  enlightened 
judgment  of  mankind  as  the  denial  of  the  obligation  of  the  national 
faith. 

Diplomacy  was  successful  in  the  following  year  in  accomplish 
ing  in  a  gentle  and  friendly  manner  all  that  could  reasonably  be 
desired  in  the  restriction  of  Chinese  immigration.  China  signi 
fied  its  willingness  to  consider  the  question  "with  a  dispassionate 
fairness,  and  to  cooperate  in  such  measures  as  may  tend  to  pre 
vent  injurious  consequences  to  the  United  States."  2  Thereupon 
the  President  appointed  James  B.  Angell,  of  Michigan,  John  F. 
Swift,  of  California,  and  William  Henry  Trescott,  of  North 
Carolina,  commissioners  plenipotentiary,  and  directed  them 
to  proceed  to  Pekin.  There  they  conferred  with  three  similar 

1  "The  veto  of  the  anti-Chinese  bill  is  generally  approved  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  bitterly  denounced  west  of  the  mountains.    I  was  burned  in 
effigy  in  one  town!    No  doubt  a  population  without  women  —  without  wives 
and  mothers  —  that  can't  assimilate  with  us,  that  underbids  our  laborers,  must 
be  hateful.  It  should  be  made  certain  by  proper  methods  that  such  an  invasion 
cannot  permanently  override  our  people.  It  cannot  safely  be  admitted  into  the 
bosom  of  our  American  society."   (Diary,  March,  1879.) 

2  President  Hayes's  annual  message,  December  1,  1879. 


218  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

commissioners,  designated  by  the  Emperor  of  C  hina.  As  the  result 
of  their  negotiations  two  treaties  were  agreed  upon  in  November, 
1880;  one  improving  the  commercial  relations  of  the  two  coun 
tries  and  forbidding  the  opium  trade;  the  other  and  more  im 
portant  so  modifying  the  Burlingame  Treaty  as  to  permit  the 
United  States  by  legislative  measures  to  "regulate,  limit,  or 
suspend"  the  immigration  of  Chinese  laborers.  The  ratification 
of  the  treaties  by  both  Governments  followed  promptly,  and  so 
it  became  possible  for  the  United  States,  without  breach  of  faith 
or  endangering  the  general  relations  of  commerce  and  amity  with 
the  Chinese  Empire,  to  restrict  and  control  the  influx  of  Chinese 
into  this  country.  The  course  of  President  Hayes  in  connection 
with  this  whole  episode  received  in  the  retrospect  the  decided 
approval  and  commendation  of  the  conservative  sentiment  of 
the  entire  Republic. 

During  the  summer  of  1879  the  De  Lesseps  project  for  con 
structing  a  canal  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  began  to  take 
practical  shape.  The  American  people  were  tremendously  in 
terested  in  the  proposal,  and  discussion  of  the  possibilities  in 
volved  in  the  building  and  control  of  an  interoceanic  canal  under 
European  auspices  became  general. ;  What  would  be  the  relations 
of  our  Government  to  the  enterprise?  What  power  or  powers 
would  be  charged  with  the  maintenance  of  the  neutrality  of  the 
waterway?  How  would  the  Monroe  Doctrine  be  affected?  These 
and  similar  questions  were  for  months  a  chief  topic  of  newspaper 
and  popular  discussion  and  were  made  the  subject  of  prolonged 
official  consideration.  Senator  Burnside,  near  the  close  of  the 
special  session  of  Congress,  introduced  a  resolution,  declaring 
"that  the  people  of  these  States  would  not  view  without  serious 
inquietude  any  attempt  by  the  powers  of  Europe  to  establish 
under  their  protection  and  domination  a  ship  canal  across  the 
Isthmus  of  Darien,  and  such  action  could  not  be  regarded  in  any 
other  light  than  as  a  manifestation  of  an  unfriendly  disposi 
tion  toward  the  United  States."  While  no  action  was  taken, 
the  resolution  fairly  expressed  a  widely  prevalent  feeling.  De 
Lesseps,  to  be  sure,  promptly  disclaimed  any  official  sanction 
of  his  project  by  the  French  Government,  and  the  French  Min 
ister  at  Washington  made  a  similar  disavowal.  But  a  company, 


FOREIGN  RELATIONS  219 

organized  under  French  law,  conducted  by  Frenchmen,  and 
receiving  its  capital  from  French  investors,  would  necessarily 
have  claims  upon  the  power  that  created  it,  and  its  promoters 
and  shareholders  must  naturally  look  to  it  if  occasion  arose  to 
give  proper  support  to  their  rights  and  interests. 

Meanwhile,  too,  the  effort  was  made  to  create  an  American 
company,  of  which  it  was  sought  to  induce  General  Grant,  just 
returned  from  his  triumphal  trip  around  the  world,  to  take  the 
presidency,  to  build  a  canal  by  the  Nicaragua  route.  Eminent 
American  engineers  in  the  public  service,  after  long  and  pains 
taking  surveys,  had  pronounced  this  route  the  most  feasible  and 
desirable  of  all  the  isthmian  projects.  In  his  annual  message  in 
December  the  President  indicated  his  sympathy  with  this  Ameri 
can  proposal.  And  both  houses  of  Congress  were  not  slow  in 
reflecting  the  popular  concern  at  the  French  undertaking.  In 
the  House  a  select  committee  was  constituted  to  inquire  into 
our  treaty  rights  and  obligations  on  the  Isthmus  and  to  consider 
all  pertinent  questions  in  the  premises.  There  was  no  division 
of  parties  on  the  subject.  Men  of  all  shades  of  opinion  believed 
that  the  Monroe  Doctrine  was  about  to  be  defied.  Even  a  man 
of  so  judicious  and  unexcitable  a  temper  as  Senator  Bayard  was 
stirred  to  declare  in  the  Senate :  — 

The  scheme  of  uniting  the  two  great  oceans  by  a  canal  across  the 
Isthmus  on  the  southern  border  of  this  continent  is  one  of  world-wide 
importance,  and  the  heart  of  every  American  proclaims  that  it  is  to  be 
under  the  control  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  Our  power 
may  be  questioned,  but  it  will  be  maintained.  Every  counsel  of  wisdom, 
therefore,  exhorts  us  to  "seize  the  day"  and  in  time  of  peace  prepare  for 
war,  for  it  is  the  surest  mode  to  avert  it.1 

1  The  President  was  not  an  idle  observer  of  the  controversy:  — 
"Last  Friday,  the  9th,  I  directed  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  order  two  of 
our  national  vessels  to  sail  to  the  ports  in  the  Chiriqui  Grant,  one  on  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  and  one  on  the  Pacific  Coast  between  Panama  and|the  proposed  Nic 
aragua  Canal.  The  purpose  is  to  establish  naval  stations  in  these  important 
harbors.  It  is  claimed  that  an  American  citizen,  Mr.  Ambrose  Thompson,  has 
procured  a  very  important  grant  of  the  lands  surrounding  these  harbors  and  of 
the  right  of  way  connecting  them.  Mr.  Thompson  conveyed  to  the  United 
States,  by  an  arrangement  with  President  Lincoln,  an  interest  in  his  grant.  If 
it  shall  be  deemed  best  by  Congress  to  take  possession  of  that  interest,  the 
presence  of  our  ships  and  the  establishing  of  our  coaling-stations  will  give  us  a 
foothold  which  will  be  of  vast  service  in  controlling  the  passage  from  ocean  to 
ocean  either  at  Panama  or  at  Nicaragua  Lake."  (Diary,  January  13,  1880.) 


220  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

The  decided  preponderance  of  informed  and  intelligent  opin 
ion,  both  official  and  popular,  was  that  the  interests  of  this  coun 
try  in  any  isthmian  canal  were  so  much  greater  and  so  much 
more  important  than  those  of  any  or,  indeed,  all  other  countries, 
that  while  we  could  not  and  should  not  stop  the  building  of  a 
canal  by  whoever  could  provide  the  necessary  capital,  we  were 
in  duty  bound  to  protect  ourselves  against  the  possibilities  of 
evil  consequences  that  might  be  involved  in  French  control. 
There  must  be  no  misunderstanding  on  the  part  of  the  world 
that  by  the  very  nature  and  necessities  of  the  case  our  rights  and 
interests  must  receive  paramount  consideration.  President 
Hayes  was  firmly  convinced  of  the  propriety  of  this  view,1  and 
he  gave  concise  but  emphatic  expression  to  it  in  a  special  mes 
sage  to  Congress  of  March  8,  1880,  transmitting  copies  of  cor 
respondence  and  other  papers  relating  to  the  canal  which  had 
been  asked  for  by  the  House.  He  said:  — 

In  further  compliance  with  the  resolution  of  the  House,  I  deem  it 
proper  to  state  briefly  my  opinion  as  to  the  policy  of  the  United  States 
with  respect  to  the  construction  of  an  interoceanic  canal  by  any  route 
across  the  American  Isthmus. 

1  "The  most  important  subject  now  under  consideration  is  as  to  the  canal 
across  the  Isthmus,  connecting  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific.  The 
French  engineer,  Lesseps,  the  chief  man  in  building  the  Suez  Canal,  is  actively 
at  work  organizing,  or  trying  to  organize,  a  company  to  enter  upon  the  work. 
The  time  has  come  when  the  American  doctrine  ought  to  be  explicitly  stated. 
In  my  judgment  the  United  States  regard  the  commercial  communication, 
whether  by  railroad  or  canal  between  the  two  oceans,  across  the  Isthmus  at  any 
of  the  points  which  have  been  suggested,  as  essential  to  their  prosperity  and 
safety.  The  right  of  free  passage  at  all  times  in  peace  or  war,  for  the  purpose  of 
commerce  or  for  defense,  the  United  States  deem  essential  to  their  safety  and 
prosperity.  They  wish  it  to  be  understood  by  all  concerned  that  the  United 
States  will  not  consent  that  any  European  power  shall  control  the  railroad  or 
canal  across  the  Isthmus  of  Central  America.  With  due  regard  to  the  rights 
and  wishes  of  our  sister  republics  in  the  Isthmus,  the  United  States  will  insist 
that  this  passageway  shall  always  remain  under  American  control.  Whoever 
invests  capital  in  the  contemplated  work  should  do  it  with  a  distinct  under 
standing  that  the  United  States  expects  and  intends  to  control  the  canal  in 
conformity  with  its  own  interests. 

"The  highway  between  that  part  of  the  United  States  which  is  on  the  Atlantic 
and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  that  part  of  our  country  which  is  on  the  Pacific, 
must  not  be  allowed  to  pass  under  the  control  of  any  European  nation.  The  con 
trol  must  be  exclusively  either  in  the  country  through  which  it  passes,  or  in  the 
United  States,  or  under  the  joint  control  of  the  American  Republics.  The  United 
States  should  control  this  great  highway.  ...  It  must  not  be  controlled  by 
Europe."  (Diary,  February  7,  1880.) 


FOREIGN  RELATIONS  221 

The  policy  of  this  country  is  a  canal  under  American  control.  The 
United  States  cannot  consent  to  the  surrender  of  this  control  to  any 
European  power  or  to  any  combination  of  European  powers.  If  exist 
ing  treaties  between  the  United  States  and  other  nations,  or  if  the 
rights  of  sovereignty  or  property  of  other  nations,  stand  in  the  way 
of  this  policy,  —  a  contingency  which  is  not  apprehended,  —  suitable 
steps  should  be  taken  by  just  and  liberal  negotiations  to  promote  and 
establish  the  American  policy  on  this  subject,  consistently  with  the 
rights  of  the  nations  to  be  affected  by  it. 

The  capital  invested  by  corporations  or  citizens  of  other  countries  in 
such  an  enterprise  must  in  a  great  degree  look  for  protection  to  one  or 
more  of  the  great  powers  of  the  world.  No  European  power  can  inter 
vene  for  such  protection  without  adopting  measures  on  this  continent 
which  the  United  States  would  deem  wholly  inadmissible.  If  the 
protection  of  the  United  States  is  relied  upon,  the  United  States  must 
exercise  such  control  as  will  enable  this  country  to  protect  its  national 
interests  and  maintain  the  rights  of  those  whose  private  capital  is  em 
barked  in  the  work. 

An  interoceanic  canal  across  the  American  Isthmus  will  essentially 
change  the  geographical  relations  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
Coasts  of  the  United  States,  and  between  the  United  States  and  the 
rest  of  the  world.  It  will  be  the  great  ocean  thoroughfare  between  our 
Atlantic  and  our  Pacific  shores,  and  virtually  a  part  of  the  coast-line 
of  the  United  States.  Our  merely  commercial  interest  in  it  is  greater 
than  that  of  all  other  countries,  while  its  relations  to  our  power  and 
prosperity  as  a  nation,  to  our  means  of  defense,  our  unity,  peace,  and 
safety,  are  matters  of  paramount  concern  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  No  other  great  power  would,  under  similar  circumstances,  fail 
to  assert  a  rightful  control  over  a  work  so  closely  and  vitally  affecting 
its  interest  and  welfare. 

Without  urging  further  the  grounds  of  my  opinion,  I  repeat,  in  con 
clusion,  that  it  is  the  right  and  the  duty  of  the  United  States  to  assert 
and  maintain  such  supervision  and  authority  over  any  interoceanic  canal 
across  the  Isthmus  that  connects  North  and  South  America  as  will 
protect  our  national  interests.  This  I  am  quite  sure  will  be  found  not 
only  compatible  with  but  promotive  of  the  widest  and  most  permanent 
advantage  to  commerce  and  civilization.1 

By  a  fortunate  coincidence  this  message  was  sent  to  Congress 
on  the  very  day  that  De  Lesseps,  who  was  visiting  this  country 

1  Before  writing  this  message  the  President  had  presented  his  views  to  the 
Cabinet.  Every  member  had  practically  concurred  therein,  though  Mr.  Evarts 
was  not  convinced  that  the  situation  was  as  acute  as  the  President  regarded  it. 
The  opinion  of  the  other  members  was  substantially  that  expressed  by  Mr. 
Schurz:  "No  European  nation  under  similar  circumstances  would  hesitate  an 
instant  to  assert  its  rights  in  such  a  case,  and  to  give  decided  expression  of  its 
purpose  to  maintain  them." 


222  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

on  his  way  back  to  France  from  Panama,  was  appearing  before 
the  select  committee  to  give  information  regarding  his  plans 
and  purposes.  Even  his  exuberant  enthusiasm  felt  the  dash 
of  cold  water  that  the  President  had  administered,  though  it 
quickly  revived  its  flame. 

Most  of  the  leading  papers,  irrespective  of  party  leanings, 
approved  the  President's  declaration  and  gave  his  message 
cordial  commendation.  In  Congress  various  resolutions,  assert 
ing  virtually  the  same  position  as  that  taken  by  the  President, 
were  introduced  and  debated,  but  without  definitive  action. 
De  Lesseps  on  his  return  to  France  went  forward  with  his  pre 
parations  for  floating  his  ill-fated  and  scandal-attended  enter 
prise  with  the  ardor  and  resourcefulness  characteristic  rather 
of  a  young  man  than  of  a  septuagenarian.  In  his  last  annual 
message,  December  6,  1880,  the  President  made  only  this  brief 
reference  to  the  matter :  — 

The  relations  between  this  Government  and  that  of  the  United 
States  of  Colombia  have  engaged  public  attention  during  the  past  year, 
mainly  by  reason  of  the  project  of  an  interoceanic  canal  across  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama,  to  be  built  by  private  capital  under  a  concession 
from  the  Colombian  Government  for  that  purpose.   The  treaty  obliga 
tions  subsisting  between  the  United  States  and  Colombia,  by  which  we 
guarantee  the  neutrality  of  the  transit  and  the  sovereignty  and  property 
of  Colombia  in  the  Isthmus,  make  it  necessary  that  the  conditions  under 
which  so  stupendous  a  change  in  the  region  embraced  in  this  guaranty 
should  be  effected,  —  transforming,  as  it  would,  this  Isthmus,  from  a 
barrier  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans,  into  a  gateway  and 
thoroughfare  between  them,  for  the  navies  and  the  merchant-ships  of 
the  world,  —  should  receive  the  approval  of  this  Government,  as  being 
compatible  with  the  discharge  of  these  obligations  on  our  part,  and 
consistent  with  our  interests  as  the  principal  commercial  power  of  the 
Western  Hemisphere.  The  views  which  I  expressed  in  a  special  message 
to  Congress  in  March  last,  in  relation  to  this  project,  I  deem  it  my  duty 
again  to  press  upon  your  attention.   Subsequent  consideration  has  but 
confirmed  the  opinion  "that  it  is  the  right  and  duty  of  the  United  States 
to  assert  and  maintain  such  supervision  and  authority  over  any  inter- 
oceanic  canal  across  the  Isthmus   that  connects  North  and  South 
America  as  will  protect  our  national  interest." 

It  was  just  at  this  time  that,  with  a  great  blare  of  advertising, 
the  Panama  stock  was  being  offered  for  subscription  by  promi 
nent  banking  houses  in  Paris,  London,  and  other  European 


FOREIGN  RELATIONS  223 

financial  centres,  and  likewise  in  New  York :  and  in  Europe  large 
subscriptions  were  being  made.  To  disarm  American  suspicions 
and  to  propitiate  American  sentiment,  in  view  of  the  known 
opinion  of  the  President  and  the  attitude  of  Congress,  the  ready 
and  astute  De  Lesseps  had  conceived  the  plan  of  creating  an 
American  advisory  committee  whose  ostensible  function  should 
be  to  control  purchases  of  canal  supplies  in  this  country,  but 
which  would  appear  to  give  the  enterprise  an  American  char 
acter.  For  president  of  this  committee  a  figurehead  of  national 
note  was  desirable.  General  Grant  was  first  approached,  but 
in  vain;  and  then  with  splendid  audacity  a  man  was  sought  in 
the  very  Cabinet  of  the  President,  namely,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy.  While  the  duties  of  the  position  could  hardly  be  much 
more  than  nominal,  the  emoluments  were  to  be  a  salary  of 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars  a  year.  The  salary  was  most  at 
tractive  to  Colonel  Thompson,  and  yet,  he  was  reluctant  at  first 
to  take  the  place  if  the  President  should  regard  his  acceptance  as 
in  any  way  inconsistent  with  his  relations  to  the  Administration 
and  the  doctrines  of  the  President's  message.  But  "it  had 
occurred  to  him  that  the  influence  of  an  American  president 
might  be  so  used  as  to  americanize  the  enterprise  and  thus  re 
move  the  principal  objection  made  in  this  country."  The  pur 
pose  of  his  selection  was  so  manifest  and  the  impropriety  of 
his  even  considering  the  offer  was  so  obvious  that  the  President 
was  naturally  surprised  and  chagrined  when,  early  in  December, 
the  Secretary  accepted  the  position  without  having  previously 
retired  from  the  Cabinet.  The  old  gentleman  had  apparently 
persuaded  himself  that  there  would  be  no  incongruity  in  his 
continuing  to  serve  in  the  President's  official  family,  while  be 
coming  the  titular  representative  in  this  country  of  a  foreign 
enterprise,  the  exact  status  and  possibilities  of  which  were  the 
subject  of  popular  controversy  and  governmental  inquiry. 

It  was  necessary  for  the  President  at  once  to  undeceive  the 
Secretary,  and  this  he  managed  to  do  in  so  definite  and  yet  deli 
cate  a  way  that  the  aged  Secretary  could  not  misunderstand  his 
meaning  nor  yet  feel  offended  in  his  pride.  He  commissioned 
Secretary  Evarts,  who  had  informed  him  of  Secretary  Thomp 
son's  decision,  to  say  to  the  latter:  — 


224  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

The  President  regards  your  message  through  me  as  placing  your 
resignation  at  his  disposal,  and  decides  at  once  to  accept  it  to  relieve 
you  of  all  embarrassment  on  the  subject. 

Whereupon  the  Secretary  promptly  addressed  a  formal  letter  of 
resignation  to  the  President,  expressing  "extreme  reluctance" 
to  withdraw  from  associations  which  had  "been  so  uniformly 
pleasant  and  agreeable,  so  entirely  unmarred  by  a  single  un 
pleasant  occurrence." 

In  the  House,  in  December,  Mr.  Crapo,  of  Massachusetts, 
introduced  a  resolution  even  more  vigorous  in  expression  than 
those  debated  in  Congress  during  its  preceding  session,  declaring 
the  construction  of  a  canal  by  the  means  of  foreign  capital  under 
a  European  charter  hostile  to  our  established  policy  and  violative 
of  the  spirit  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine;  and  asserting  the  determi 
nation  of  this  Government  to  control  any  canal  that  should  be 
built.  This  resolution  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Affairs,  which  gave  it  long  consideration,  and  at  last  submitted 
a  report  in  which  the  Monroe  Doctrine  was  elaborately  reviewed 
and  the  propriety  of  the  resolution  was  defended.  No  action 
was  taken  by  the  House  on  the  resolution  or  the  report;  and 
nothing  came  of  efforts  made  by  Secretary  Evarts  to  obtain  a 
protocol  to  the  treaty  of  1846  with  the  Colombian  Government 
which  should  provide  that  the  United  States  exclusively  should 
guarantee  the  neutrality  of  the  canal.  The  unsettled  controversy 
thus  passed  over  to  the  next  Administration  and  long  continued 
to  be  the  subject  of  dispute  and  negotiation.  It  is  hardly  neces 
sary  to  recall  that  the  doctrine  asserted  by  President  Hayes, 
"the  policy  of  this  country  is  a  canal  under  American  control," 
after  long  years  of  futile  private  efforts  and  various  vicissitudes 
of  diplomacy,  was  at  last  realized  in  the  assumption  of  American 
authority  on  the  Isthmus  and  the  construction  at  vast  public 
expense  of  the  imposing  undertaking. 

The  large  achievements  of  Mr.  Hayes's  Administration  in 
dealing  with  domestic  problems  —  the  handling  of  the  Southern 
situation,  the  restoration  of  specie  payments  and  the  strengthen 
ing  of  the  national  credit,  the  efforts  to  bring  about  reform  in  the 
civil  service,  and  the  maintenance  unimpaired  of  the  President's 
prerogatives  —  have  been  fully  set  out  In  preceding  chapters. 


DOMESTIC  POLICIES  225 

The  most  rapid  survey  of  the  minor  incidents  and  routine  activ 
ities  of  the  period  must  suffice.  This  general  statement  can 
be  made,  that  as  compared  with  the  preceding  Administration 
a  more  efficient  and  businesslike  spirit  pervaded  all  the  execu 
tive  offices;  that  the  functions  of  government  were  exercised 
with  a  directness,  a  straightforwardness,  and  a  freedom  from 
scandal  which  were  in  striking  contrast  to  the  methods  that  had 
long  been  widely  prevalent.1  When  Mr.  Hayes  entered  upon  his 

1  Examination  of  Mr.  Hayes's  messages  in  detail  surprises  one  with  the  large 
number  of  recommendations  for  improvements  in  the  public  service  and  for 
progressive  legislation  which,  though  ignored  at  the  time,  have  since  become 
accomplished  facts.  Especially  noteworthy  were  his  urgent  pleas  for  more  effi 
cient  legislation  and  methods  for  ending  the  scandal  of  polygamy  in  Utah  and 
the  adjacent  Territories.  Writing  in  his  diary,  January  13,  1880,  of  the  appoint 
ment  of  a  Governor  of  Utah,  the  President  says:  "This  under  ordinary  circum 
stances  would  be  a  common  administrative  act.  But  an  appointment  in  the 
place  of  the  present  very  reputable  Governor  means  a  change  of  policy  toward 
the  Mormons.  Now  the  Territory  is  virtually  under  the  theocratic  government 
of  the  Mormon  Church.  The  union  of  Church  and  State  is  complete.  The  result 
is  the  usual  one  —  the  usurpation  or  absorption  of  all  temporal  authority  and 
power  by  the  Church.  Polygamy  and  every  other  evil  sanctioned  by  the  Church 
is  safe.  To  destroy  the  temporal  power  of  the  Mormon  Church  is  the  end  in 
view.  This  requires  agitation.  The  people  of  the  United  States  must  be  made  to 
appreciate,  to  understand  the  situation.  Laws  must  be  enacted  which  will  take 
from  the  Mormon  Church  its  temporal  power.  Mormonism  as  a  sectarian  idea 
is  nothing;  but  as  a  system  of  government  it  is  our  duty  to  deal  with  it  as  an 
enemy  to  our  institutions  and  its  supporters  and  leaders  as  criminals." 

Mention  also  should  be  made  of  Mr.  Hayes's  share  in  the  completion  of  the 
Washington  Monument.  In  the  diary  is  preserved  the  following  interesting 
letter  and  footnote:  — 

SPIEGEL  GROVE,  FREMONT,  OHIO. 
24  December,  1886. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Mrs.  Hayes  wishes  me  to  thank  you  warmly  for  your  kind 
note  and  for  your  capital  book  on  the  Democracy  of  Art.  I  must  also  add  my 
special  gratification  for  your  mention  of  my  agency  in  securing  the  completion 
of  the  Washington  Monument,  and  your  discriminating  approval  of  the  obelisk 
in  your  work.  There  was  much  division  of  counsels  about  it.  The  Act  of  Con 
gress  making  an  appropriation  for  its  continuance  was  generally  regarded  as 
a  dead  letter  by  reason  of  the  conditions  annexed.  It  was  confidently  objected:  — 

(1)  That  the  foundation  would  not  sustain  an  average  warehouse  and  that 
to  patch  it  would  be  folly. 

(2)  It  would  if  completed  be  a  disgrace  to  the  nation  —  merely  a  tall  and  awk 
ward  smokestack  at  the  best. 

(3)  It  ought  to  be  torn  down,  and  in  its  stead  there  should  be  built  an  arch, 
or  a  splendid  structure  filled  with  statues  and  allegorical  figures. 

For  some  months  I  made  it  a  study  —  a  hobby.  General  Casey  skilfully 
prepared  a  plan  to  strengthen  the  foundation.  Mr.  Spofford  furnished  the  height 
of  other  tall  structures.  Mr.  Clark,  architect  of  the  Capitol,  gave  constant  and 


226  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

term  the  country  was  still  depressed  and  suffering  from  the  ef 
fects  of  the  severe  financial  panic  of  1873;  and  his  party  was 
discredited,  riven  by  internal  discussions,  and  on  the  verge  of 
collapse.  When  he  left  the  White  House,  bounding  prosperity 
made  glad  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  his  party  was  once  more 
triumphant,  confident,  aggressive.  The  wonder  is  that  with  a 
hostile  Congress,  and  with  his  own  party  disunited  in  its  support 
of  all  the  great  policies  to  which  he  was  committed  by  his  letter 
of  acceptance  and  his  inaugural  address,  and  which  he  deter 
minedly  pursued  —  the  wonder  is  that  he  could  accomplish  as 
much  as  he  did.  His  Administration  proved  and  illustrated  his 
own  wise  maxim  that  "he  serves  his  party  best  who  serves  his 
country  best."  He  was  frankly  and  devotedly  a  Republican. 
On  the  great  questions  which  divided  the  parties  he  believed 
unswervingly  that  the  Republicans  were  right  and  the  Demo 
crats  were  wrong.  For  the  best  development,  for  the  progress, 
and  the  perpetuity  of  our  institutions  he  was  thoroughly  con 
vinced  that  the  Republican  view  should  prevail.  But  he  did 
not  doubt  the  patriotic  motives  of  his  Democratic  opponents, 
however  much  he  thought  them  mistaken  in  their  principles, 
and  he  had  not  shut  his  eyes  to  the  excesses  of  Republican  ad 
ministration,  nor  closed  his  ears  to  the  indignant  demand  of  the 
people  for  reasonableness  and  reform.  In  the  face  of  the  pro 
tests,  the  denunciation,  and  the  malignant  enmity  of  men  who 

indispensable  aid  to  the  work.  Mr.  Corcoran  and  others  earnestly  supported  the 
project  of  going  forward,  and  gradually  all  opposition  was  overcome.  We  de 
cided  that  the  monument  should  overtop  all  other  tall  structures,  and  fixed  its 
height,  therefore,  at  550  feet.  On  some  of  the  details  we  consulted  our  Minister 
to  Italy,  Mr.  George  P.  Marsh.  Singularly  and  fortunately  he  discovered  that 
there  was  a  rule  which  determined  the  height  of  an  obelisk  by  reference  to  the 
dimension  of  its  base;  and  that  by  the  rule  our  monument  should  be  555  feet 
high.* 

This  is  hastily  written  from  memory  and  is,  of  course,  subject  to  correc 
tion  by  recurring  to  documents.  It  will  give  you  an  idea  of  the  ground  of  my 
gratification  in  reading  your  appreciative  commendation  of  the  completed 
monument.  —  Sincerely, 

R.  B.  HAYES. 

MR.  J.  EDWARDS  CLARKE, 
WASHINGTON,  D.C. 

*  General  Casey  is  entitled  to  special  and  honorable  mention.  He  solved  the 
difficult  problem  presented  by  the  defective  foundation.  To  him  the  nation  is 
indebted  for  the  successful  completion  of  its  most  admirable  and  illustrious 
memorial  structure. 


DOMESTIC  POLICIES  227 

had  long  been  leaders  of  his  party,  he  serenely  maintained  his 
course,  firmly  convinced  in  his  own  mind  that  the  policies  he 
was  enforcing,  instead  of  wrecking  his  party,  as  his  detractors 
angrily  prophesied,  would  bring  new  strength  and  new  courage 
to  the  Republican  cause.  And  the  event  proved  that  he  was  far 
wiser  than  his  critics. 

Mr.  Hayes  himself,  writing  in  his  diary  (December  29, 
1881),  ten  months  after  the  expiration  of  his  term,  reviews  the 
accomplishment  of  his  Administration  in  this  manner :  — 

To  my  mind  the  conclusive  argument  in  behalf  of  my  Administration 
is  its  results.  Success  is  the  final  test  of  public  men  and  public  measures. 
What  was  the  result  of  the  Administration  on  the  country  and  on  the 
party  which  elected  it?  The  Administration  found  the  country  divided 
and  distracted  and  every  interest  depressed.  It  left  it  united,  harmo 
nious,  and  prosperous.  The  Administration  came  in  with  the  Republican 
party  discordant,  disheartened,  and  weak.  When  the  Administration 
closed,  its  party  was  united,  strong,  confident,  and  victorious.  At  its 
beginning,  the  South  was  solid,  and  the  North  divided.  At  its  close  the 
North  was  united  and  solid  and  the  South  was  divided.  At  the  begin 
ning  both  houses  of  Congress  had  been  lost.  When  it  closed,  both  houses 
were  regained.  I  can  say  with  truth:  "I  left  this  great  country  prosper 
ous  and  happy,  and  the  party  of  my  choice  strong,  victorious,  and 
united.  In  serving  the  country  I  served  the  party." 

The  measures  which  did  the  most  to  bring  about  these  auspicious 
results  were,  as  a  general  statement,  opposed  by  the  leaders  of  my 
party  —  by  the  men  who  were  most  bitter  in  their  hostility  to  me, 
namely,  Conkling,  Elaine,  Cameron,  etc.,  etc.  I  refer  especially  to  the 
Southern  policy,  the  civil  service  policy,  and  the  financial  policy  of  the 
Administration.  The  great  success  of  the  Administration  in  its  civil  serv 
ice  policy  was  in  getting  the  control  of  the  New  York  Custom-House, 
and  in  changing  it  from  a  political  machine  for  the  benefit  of  party  lead 
ers  into  a  business  office  for  the  benefit  of  the  public.  This  was  where  the 
spoils  system  was  strongest  and  where  the  reform  was  most  difficult. 
All  of  my  opponents  were  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  question.  The  vic 
tory  was  signal  and  in  its  results  complete.  The  successful  reform  in 
New  York  is  the  corner-stone  of  the  final  thorough  and  complete  reform 
of  the  whole  service  of  the  United  States.  WTiat  has  been  done  in  New 
York  against  such  odds  can  be  done,  and  surely  will  be  done,  every 
where. 

The  Southern  policy  these  leaders  all  reviled;  now,  all  are  silenced 
by  the  results.  Their  President  utters  not  a  word  on  the  subject.  His 
silence  is  the  most  significant  proof  of  the  wisdom  and  success  of  my 
policy. 

On  financial  measures,  all  of  the  leaders  named,  Blaine,  Cameron, 


228  KUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

Conkling,  either  opposed  openly  or  secretly.  They  were  all  unsound  on 
the  Greenback  heresies.  I  point  to  the  results  for  my  endorsement. 

The  great  railway  strike  in  the  summer  of  1877,  which  para 
lyzed  traffic  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Atlantic  seaboard, 
was  attended  by  riots  and  acts  of  violence  beyond  the  power  of 
the  state  authorities  effectively  to  suppress.  President  Hayes 
promptly  responded  to  the  request  of  various  Governors  for 
national  assistance;  issued  proclamations  of  warning,  and  dis 
patched  troops  to  the  scenes  of  disorder.  It  was  a  source  of  pro 
found  gratification  to  the  President,  of  satisfaction  and  pride  to 
the  country,  that  wherever  the  federal  troops  appeared,  quiet 
and  order  were  immediately  restored  without  the  effusion  of  a 
drop  of  blood.  The  display  of  national  authority  was  instantly 
effective  in  restoring  normal  conditions.  During  the  calamitous 
epidemic  of  yellow  fever  in  the  South,  in  the  summer  of  1878, 
the  resources  of  the  War  Department  were  made  available  to 
afford  shelter  and  food  to  houseless  refugees  from  the  centres  of 
infection.  And  the  army  was  constantly  employed  in  the  In 
dian  country  and  along  the  Mexican  border  in  preserving  the 
peace  and  in  protecting  the  lives  and  property  of  the  frontier 
settlers. 

On  more  than  one  occasion  Indian  tribes  broke  away  from 
their  reservations  and  went  on  the  war-path,  causing  widespread 
anxiety  and  alarm  by  their  savage  atrocities.  The  Indian 
fighters  of  the  army,  conspicuous  among  whom  was  General 
Crook,  the  President's  old  commander  in  the  Shenandoah  days, 
pursued  them  skilfully  and  relentlessly  and  the  war  cloud  would 
soon  pass.  But  for  the  most  part  peaceful  conditions  prevailed 
throughout  the  wide  stretches  of  Indian  occupation;  the  wel 
fare  and  interests  of  the  wards  of  the  nation  were  conscientiously 
looked  after,  and  far-sighted  plans  for  the  gradual  amelioration 
of  their  condition,  for  their  education  and  training  in  the  usages 
of  civilization,  with  a  view  to  their  ultimate  absorption  in  the 
general  body  of  citizenship,  were  formulated  and  as  far  as  prac 
ticable  put  in  operation.  To  this  end  the  experiment  of  sending 
selected  Indian  youths  of  both  sexes  from  various  tribes  to  the 
Hampton  Institute,  to  be  taught  the  common  school  branches 
and  to  be  instructed  in  trades  and  agriculture,  was  undertaken. 
And  the  promise  of  success  of  this  experiment  was  so  flattering, 


INDIAN  POLICY  229 

and  the  eagerness  of  the  tribesmen  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
opportunity  offered  for  their  children  was  so  manifest,  that  the 
cavalry  barracks  at  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  were  turned  over  to 
the  Department  of  the  Interior  for  the  establishment  of  an 
Indian  school;  and  a  similar  school  was  opened  at  Forest  Grove 
in  Oregon.  This  plan  and  process  of  fostering  the  practical  edu 
cation  of  Indian  youth  became  the  settled  policy  of  the  Govern 
ment  and  has  had  an  influence  and  effect  in  forwarding  the 
civilization  of  the  aborigines  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  meas 
ure.  Too  great  credit  cannot  be  given  Secretary  Schurz  for  the 
zeal  with  which  he  devoted  himself  to  the  cause  of  the  Indians, 
and  the  assiduity  and  intelligence  which  he  displayed  in  advo 
cating  and  applying  his  enlightened  policy.  Mr.  Hayes  gave  him 
steadfast  support,  emphasizing  in  his  annual  messages  the 
humane  and  statesmanlike  features  of  the  policy  pursued,  and 
pressing  upon  Congress  the  importance  of  its  extension  and 
liberal  support.  This  policy,  Mr.  Hayes  said,  in  his  message  of 
December  1,  1879,  "the  object  of  which  is  to  make  liberal  pro 
vision  for  the  education  of  Indian  youth,  to  settle  the  Indians 
upon  farm-lots  in  severalty,  to  give  them  title  in  fee  to  their 
farms,  inalienable  for  a  certain  number  of  years,  and  when  their 
wants  are  thus  provided  for,  to  dispose  by  sale  of  the  lands  on 
their  reservations  not  occupied  and  used  by  them,  a  fund  to  be 
formed  out  of  the  proceeds  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians,  which 
will  gradually  relieve  the  Government  of  the  expenses  now  pro 
vided  for  by  annual  appropriations,  must  commend  itself  as  just 
and  beneficial  to  the  Indians,  and  as  also  calculated  to  remove 
those  obstructions  which  the  existence  of  large  reservations 
presents  to  the  settlement  and  development  of  the  country. 
I,  therefore,  earnestly  recommend  the  enactment  of  a  law  en 
abling  the  Government  to  give  Indians  a  title  in  fee,  inalienable 
for  twenty-five  years,  to  the  farm-lands  assigned  to  them  by 
allotment."  1  It  is  substantially  this  policy  which  finally  became 

1  In  his  last  annual  message  Mr.  Hayes  could  say:  "It  gives  me  great 
pleasure  to  say  that  our  Indian  affairs  appear  to  be  in  a  more  hopeful  condition 
now  than  ever  before.  The  Indians  have  made  gratifying  progress  in  agriculture, 
herding,  and  mechanical  pursuits.  Many  who  were  a  few  years  ago  in  hostile 
conflict  with  the  Government  are  quietly  settling  down  on  farms  where  they 
hope  to  make  their  permanent  homes,  building  houses  and  engaging  in  the  occu 
pations  of  civilized  life.  The  introduction  of  the  freighting  business  among  them 


230  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

the  Government's  established  course  of  action,  and  under  the 
operation  of  which  the  Indian  problem,  long  a  source  of  per 
plexity,  injustice,  and  corruption,  has  gradually  been  nearing 
permanent  solution. 

In  the  last  few  months  of  Mr.  Hayes's  term  the  wise  general 
course  of  the  Administration  in  dealing  with  the  Indians  and 
the  large  beneficent  results  attained  were  partially  obscured  for 
the  time  being  by  passionate  discussion  of  a  single  unfortunate 
episode;  though  a  careful  survey  of  the  facts  relieved  the  execu 
tive  department  of  the  Government  of  the  greater  burden  of 
responsibility.  In  the  summer  of  1877,  in  obedience  to  the  order 
of  Congress,  Secretary  Schurz  had  caused  the  removal  of  the 
Ponca  tribe  of  Indians  from  their  old  home  in  Dakota  and 
Nebraska  to  the  Indian  Territory.  A  remnant  of  the  tribe  man 
aged  to  escape  removal  or  to  return  to  their  old  home.  Now  it 
had  gradually  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  general  public  that, 
through  congressional  indifference  or  callousness  and  official 
carelessness  or  stupidity,  grave  injustice  and  unmerited  hard 
ship  had  been  inflicted  on  the  Poncas.  The  facts  had  been  duly 
set  forth  in  the  reports  of  Secretary  Schurz  and  of  the  Indian 
Commissioner;  and  a  committee  of  the  Senate  had  made  a 
thorough  investigation  and  reported  in  May,  1880,  that  "a  great 
wrong  had  been  done  to  the  Ponca  Indians."  But  the  public 
mind  had  been  slow  to  become  excited  over  the  sufferings  of  a 
few  hundred  Indians,  however  great  and  undeserved.  At  last 
it  did  become  aroused  and  loudly  demanded  explanation  and 
reparation.  The  fact  appeared  that  by  some  blunder  the  old 
reservation,  on  which  the  tribe  had  lived  time  out  of  mind  and 
which  had  been  assured  to  it  in  perpetuity  by  the  Government, 
had  been  included  in  the  lands  set  apart  to  the  Sioux  by  a  recent 
treaty  with  that  powerful  tribe.  Thereupon  Congress,  without 
seeking  to  correct  the  blunder,  had  ordered  the  transfer  of  the 
Poncas  to  the  Indian  Territory,  but  had  made  no  provision  for 
building  them  new  homes  or  giving  them  proper  care  on  their 

has  been  remarkably  fruitful  of  good  results,  in  giving  many  of  them  congenial 
and  remunerative  employment,  and  in  stimulating  their  ambition  to  earn  their 
own  support.  Their  honesty,  fidelity,  and  efficiency  as  carriers  are  highly  praised. 
The  organization  of  a  police  force  of  Indians  has  been  equally  successful  in 
maintaining  law  and  order  upon  the  reservations,  and  in  exercising  a  wholesome 
moral  influence  among  the  Indians  themselves." 


INDIAN  POLICY  231 

arrival  there.  Mr.  Schurz,  in  his  first  annual  report,  set  forth 
the  situation  in  language  that  should  have  arrested  the  attention 
of  Congress :  — 

The  case  of  the  Poncas  seems  entitled  to  especial  consideration  at  the 
hands  of  Congress.  The}'  have  always  been  friendly  to  the  whites.  It 
is  said,  and,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  truthfully,  that  no  Ponca 
ever  killed  a  white  man.  The  orders  of  the  Government  always  met 
with  obedient  compliance  at  their  hands.  Their  removal  from  their  old 
homes  on  the  Missouri  River  was  to  them  a  great  hardship.  They  had 
been  born  and  raised  there.  They  had  houses  there  in  which  they  lived 
according  to  their  ideas  of  comfort.  Many  of  them  had  engaged  in  agri 
culture,  and  possessed  cattle  and  agricultural  implements.  They  were 
very  reluctant  to  leave  all  this,  but  when  Congress  had  resolved  upon 
their  removal  they  finally  overcame  that  reluctance  and  obeyed.  Con 
sidering  their  constant  good  conduct,  their  obedient  spirit,  and  the  sacri 
fices  they  have  made,  they  are  certainly  entitled  to  more  than  ordinary 
care  at  the  hands  of  the  Government,  and  I  urgently  recommend  that 
liberal  provision  be  made  to  aid  them  in  their  new  settlement. 

In  spite  of  this  and  of  subsequent  pleas  by  the  Secretary,  as  well 
as  eloquent  statements  of  the  facts  in  the  case  by  the  Commis 
sioner  of  Indian  Affairs  and  by  the  agent  of  the  Poncas,  in  spite 
of  the  report  of  the  Senate  committee  already  mentioned,  Con 
gress  had  taken  no  steps  to  repair  the  injustice  that  had  been 
done.  Meanwhile,  however,  the  situation  of  the  removed  In 
dians  had  been  greatly  ameliorated  by  the  efforts  of  the  Indian 
Department,  and  they  had  reluctantly  given  up  their  longing  to 
return  to  the  north;  but  they  very  properly  felt  that  they  were 
entitled  to  reasonable  compensation  for  the  lands  that  had 
been  taken  from  them. 

Finally,  in  December,  1880,  at  the  solicitation  of  many  promi 
nent  citizens,  and  because  he  himself  thought  that  the  circum 
stances  of  the  case  warranted  the  unusual  procedure,  the  Presi 
dent  appointed  a  commission  l  to  visit  both  portions  of  the 
Ponca  tribe,  to  make  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  facts  at 
tending  the  removal  and  of  present  conditions,  and  to  recom 
mend  "what  justice  and  humanity  required  should  be  done  by 
the  Government  of  the  United  States."  While  the  commission 
was  engaged  in  its  labors  a  delegation  of  Ponca  chiefs  from  the 

1  The  members  of  the  commission  were  Brigadier-Generals  Crook  and  Miles, 
who  had  large  knowledge  of  the  Indians,  and  Messrs  William  Stickney,  of  Wash 
ington,  D.C.,  and  Walter  Allen,  of  Newton,  Mass. 


232  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

Indian  Territory  visited  Washington  and  presented  their  cause 
in  person  to  the  President.  On  the  report  of  the  commission, 
which  recommended  ample  reparation  for  the  injuries  suffered 
by  the  Poncas,  in  substantial  accord  with  the  terms  submitted 
by  the  Ponca  chiefs,  Mr.  Hayes,  on  February  1,  1881,  sent  a 
special  message  to  Congress,  urging  action  in  harmony  with  the 
commission's  suggestions.  The  message  recited  briefly  the  his 
tory  of  the  case,  urged  immediate  remedial  measures,  set  forth 
anew  the  principles  which  in  the  President's  judgment  should 
control  the  Government's  future  Indian  policy,1  and  ended  with 
this  frank  and  dignified  paragraph :  — 

I  do  not  undertake  to  apportion  the  blame  for  the  injustice  done  to 
the  Poncas.  Whether  the  Executive  or  Congress  or  the  public  is  chiefly 
in  fault  is  not  now  a  question  of  practical  importance.  As  the  Chief 
Executive  at  the  time  when  the  wrong  was  consummated,  I  am  deeply 
sensible  that  enough  of  the  responsibility  for  that  wrong  justly  attaches 
to  me  to  make  it  my  particular  duty  and  earnest  desire  to  do  all  I  can 

1  The  President  said:  — 

"Our  general  Indian  policy  for  the  future  should  embrace  the  following  lead 
ing  ideas :  — 

"1.  The  Indians  should  be  prepared  for  citizenship  by  giving  to  their  young 
of  both  sexes  that  industrial  and  general  education  which  is  required  to  enable 
them  to  be  self-supporting  and  capable  of  self-protection  in  a  civilized  com 
munity.  2.  Lands  should  be  allotted  to  the  Indians  in  severalty,  inalienable 
for  a  certain  period.  3.  The  Indians  should  have  a  fair  compensation  for  their 
lands  not  required  for  individual  allotment,  the  amount  to  be  invested  with 
suitable  safeguards  for  their  benefit.  .4.  With  these  prerequisites  secured,  the 
Indians  should  be  made  citizens,  and  invested  with  the  rights  and  charged  with 
the  responsibilities  of  citizenship. 

"It  is  therefore  recommended  that  legislation  be  adopted  in  relation  to  the 
Ponca  Indians,  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  to  secure  to  the  individ 
ual  members  of  the  Ponca  tribe,  in  severalty,  sufficient  land  for  their  support, 
inalienable  for  a  term  of  years  and  until  the  restriction  upon  alienation  may  be 
removed  by  the  President.  Ample  time  and  opportunity  should  be  given  to  the 
members  of  the  tribe  freely  to  choose  their  allotments  either  on  their  old  or  their 
new  reservation. 

"Full  compensation  should  be  made  for  the  lands  to  be  relinquished,  for  their 
losses  by  the  Sioux  depredations,  and  by  reason  of  their  removal  to  the  Indian 
Territory,  the  amount  not  to  be  less  than  the  sums  named  in  the  declaration  of 
the  chiefs,  made  December  27,  1880. 

"In  short,  nothing  should  be  left  undone  to  show  to  the  Indians  that  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  regards  their  rights  as  equally  sacred  with 
those  of  its  citizens. 

"The  time  has  come  when  the  policy  should  be  to  place  the  Indians  as  rapidly 
as  practicable  on  the  same  footing  with  the  other  permanent  inhabitants  of  our 
country." 


INDIAN  POLICY  233 

to  give  to  these  injured  people  that  measure  of  redress  which  is  required 
alike  by  justice  and  by  humanity. 

It  is  pleasant  to  recall  that  Congress  instantly  heeded  the 
President's  plea,  and,  as  far  as  was  then  practicable,  made  atone 
ment  for  the  wrongs  that  the  inoffensive  Poncas  had  suffered. 
The  President's  candor  in  assuming  a  share  of  the  responsibility 
for  the  wrong  the  Government  had  perpetrated,  though  it  is 
difficult  to  see  wherein  he  was  at  fault,  unless  it  was  in  not  more 
promptly  pressing  the  matter  upon  the  attention  of  Congress, 
satisfied  reasonable  men  that,  whatever  delinquency  could  be 
charged  against  the  Executive  in  the  whole  transaction,  it  was 
not  the  result  of  wrong  motive  or  intentional  neglect.1  And  in 
any  event,  it  was  altogether  exceptional  and  was  utterly  insig 
nificant  in  comparison  with  the  many  and  substantial  benefits 
and  improvements  which  had  been  brought  about  by  the 
intelligent  and  humane  methods  regularly  enforced  by  the  Ad 
ministration  in  the  Indian  service. 

Constantly  during  Mr.  Hayes's  term  the  politicians  of  the 
Republican  party  were  busy  with  plans  and  preparations  for  the 
Presidential  campaign  of  1880.  Already  in  1879  movements  in 
behalf  of  several  candidates  were  in  full  swing.  Of  all  these  Mr. 
Hayes  was  an  interested  observer;  in  none  did  he  participate.2 

1  Doubtless  it  would  have  been  wiser  for  Secretary  Schurz,  instead  of  at  once 
carrying  out  the  order  of  Congress  for  the  removal  of  the  tribe  to  the  Indian 
Territory,  to  have  presented  the  facts  of  the  rights  of  the  Poncas  to  their  Ne 
braska  and  Dakota  lands  under  treaties  which  long  antedated  the  treaty  with 
the  Sioux,  and  to  have  asked  Congress  to  reconsider  the  order.    The  whole 
transaction  was  blameworthy.   As  the  commission  said:  "The  removal  of  the 
Ponca  Indians  from  their  reservation  in  Dakota  and  Nebraska,  where  they  were 
living  by  virtue  of  treaties  with  the  United  States  of  1858  and  1867,  was  not  only 
most  unfortunate  for  the  Indians,  resulting  in  great  hardships  and  serious  loss 
of  life  and  property,  but  was  injudicious  and  without  sufficient  cause." 

2  "The  committee  of  the  Republican  party  for  the  nation  met  here  yesterday. 
This  is  the  first  official  movement  toward  the  Presidential  election.    The  com 
mittee  in  a  general  way  were  harmonious.  They  were  apparently  about  equally 
divided  in  their  preferences  for  next  President  between  Grant  and  Elaine,  with 
a  decided  balance  of  power  for  Sherman.  If  New  York  could,  with  a  fair  degree 
of  unity,  present  a  man  like,  say,  the  Vice- President  or  Governor  Fish,  he  would 
probably  be  nominated.    The  general  popular  favorite  is  Grant.    But  many 
thoughtful  men  dislike  a  departure  from  Washington's  precedent  —  dislike  the 
third  term;  nnd  many  more  fear  a  return  to  the  unfortunate  methods  and  men 
of  General  Grant's  former  Administration."    (Diary,  December  18,  1879.), 


234  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

He  himself  was  not  in  the  race,  having  taken  himself  completely 
out  of  consideration  by  his  letter  of  acceptance,  though  many 
voices  were  raised  in  favor  of  disregarding  his  announcement. 
The  only  one  of  his  rivals  at  Cincinnati  who  now  sought  the 
nomination  was  Mr.  Elaine,  who  had  never  ceased  to  nurse  his 
ambition,  and  who  had  again  a  strong  and  enthusiastic  following. 
Morton  was  dead  and  Bristow  had  disappeared  from  the  political 
arena.  Mr.  Sherman  was  an  avowed  candidate.  His  brilliant 
services  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  had  vastly  increased  his 
great  reputation  for  sound  statesmanship  and  wise  conserva 
tism.  Among  the  more  thoughtful  elements  of  the  party  he  was 
recognized  as  the  man  of  all  others  most  worthy  of  the  high 
honor;  best  entitled  by  his  long  public  service  and  his  splendid 
achievements  to  leadership  of  his  party.  His  nomination  would 
be  emphatic  endorsement  of  the  Administration,  and  Mr.  Hayes 
was  in  full  sympathy  with  his  aspirations.  But  for  some  reason, 
—  coldness  of  manner,  reserve,  lack  of  sympathetic  appeal,  or 
whatever  it  may  have  been,  —  Mr.  Sherman  was  never  able,  with 
all  his  unusual  intellectual  gifts  and  powers  of  accomplishment, 
to  win  wide  popularity  among  the  rank  and  file  of  his  fellow  citi 
zens.  He  won  their  high  regard,  their  admiration,  but  he  failed 
to  touch  their  imaginations,  to  inspire  them  with  personal  devo 
tion.  Moreover,  the  very  fact  that  he  was  part  of  the  Adminis 
tration  made  his  candidacy  particularly  obnoxious  to  all  the  reac 
tionary  forces  of  the  party,  which  longed  for  the  good  old  days 
before  reform  was  heard  of,  and  which  had  persistently  refused 
to  be  reconciled  or  to  give  more  than  half-hearted  support  to 
Mr.  Hayes;  while  the  fact  that,  as  a  loyal  party  man,  he  had 
made  speeches  in  behalf  of  the  election  of  Mr.  Cornell  as  Gover 
nor  of  New  York,  after  he  himself  had  been  a  party  to  the  dis 
missal  of  that  gentleman  for  cause  from  the  customs  service,  had 
cooled  the  ardor  for  him  of  earnest  reformers. 

Mr.  Conkling  was  not  a  candidate  himself,  but  he  had  as 
sumed  the  leadership  of  the  forces  of  the  party  that  were  bent 
upon  the  nomination  once  more  of  General  Grant  and  the  restora 
tion  of  the  ancient  regime  of  personal  government  and  senatorial 
domination.  To  this  cause  he  devoted  his  great  powers  with  tire 
less  energy  and  unwavering  zeal,  born  of  his  years  of  pique  and 
animosity  toward  the  President  by  reason  of  the  curtailment  of 


NOMINATION  OF   GARFIELD  235 

his  prestige  and  the  denial  of  his  arrogant  claims  to  power  and 
patronage.  He  had  been  throughout  implacable  in  his  hostility 
to  Mr.  Hayes,  never  once  appearing  at  the  White  House,  during 
its  occupancy  by  Mr.  Hayes.1  With  him  now  were  associated  the 
reactionary  elements  of  the  party,  —  and  they  were  numerous,  — 
as  well  as  hosts  of  men  who  were  swayed  more  by  their  emotions 
than  their  reason.  The  reports  of  the  honors  and  attentions 
showered  on  the  great  soldier  by  potentates,  princes,  and  peoples 
during  his  progress  around  the  world,  the  acclaim  with  which  he 
was  everywhere  received,  filled  all  American  hearts  with  exulta 
tion,  and  caused  many  to  forget  the  scandals  of  his  civil  admin 
istration  and  to  remember  only  his  incomparable  services  in  the 
war  to  save  the  Union.2  They  were  ready  to  welcome  him  with 

1  "Conkling's  death  calls  up  the  past.   He  was  talented  and  able  in  the  de 
bates  of  public  life,  but  as  I  see  it,  his  place  is  largely  due  to  his  manipulation 
of  men  and  patronage.  He  had  no  measures,  made  no  memorable  speeches,  but 
his  fidelity  to  supporters  and  skill  in  flattery,  with  an  impressive  presence  and 
manner,  were  his  chief  points.    An  inordinate  egotism  and  self-will  were  too 
much  for  his  judgment.   If  he  could  not  rule,  he  would  not  'play.'   He  was  un 
faithful  to  his  party  whenever  he  could  not  control  it.   Examples  are  numerous. 
He  failed  in  1876  after  his  disappointment  at  Cincinnati.  A  man  with  less  vanity 
would  have  known  that  he  had  no  chance  there.   After  the  election,  during  the 
contest  over  the  disputed  results,  he  was  again  untrue,  but  lacked  the  courage 
to  carry  out  his  wishes.  In  the  Potter  Committee  business  he  intrigued  with  the 
common  enemy.  He  had  to  be  pacified  in  the  Garfield  campaign.  After  the  elec 
tion  he  required  control  of  New  York  appointments  as  a  condition  of  support  of 
the  Garfield  Administration.  After  his  defeat  in  New  York,  due  [to]  —  brought 
about  by  —  his  'monomania  on  the  subject  of  his  own  importance,'  he  was  out  of 
political  life  until  the  convention  at  Chicago  in  1884  when  he  allowed  it  to  be 
understood  that  he  would  support  Elaine.  But  when  the  election  came  on,  he,  as 
usual,  opposed  his  party,  it  being  no  longer  under  his  control. 

"After  I  went  to  Washington  and  after  the  delivery  of  the  inaugural,  he  was 
profuse  in  admiration  of  my  opinions  and  course  —  this  to  me  personally  —  until 
the  announcement  of  my  Cabinet,  when  he  became  hostile,  never  again  calling 
on  me.  We  never  spoke  with  each  other  afterwards.  He  wanted  Platt  for 
Postmaster-General.  That  was  the  condition  of  his  support."  (Diary,  April  19, 
1888.) 

2  "The  backbone  of  the  [Grant]  movement,  without  which  it  could  have  only 
a  forced,  sickly,  sensational  existence,  lies  in  Grant's  popularity  with  the  masses 
of  the  Republican  party.   They  have  already  forgotten  his  many  errors  of  judg 
ment,  his  astonishing  faculty  for  clinging  to  bad  men,  .  .  .  the  disreputable  hang 
ers-on  who  surrounded  him,  the  official  scandals  that  were  constantly  breaking 
out  in  his  Administration;  and  they  remember  only  his  military  renown,  his 
conservative,  honest  course  toward  the  finances,  and  the  fact  that  the  country 
got  along  pretty  well  on  the  whole  under  his  rule."   (E.  V.  Smalley,  Washington 
correspondence  New  York  Herald,  dated  December  9,  1878.) 

General  Grant's  own  attitude  toward  the  movement  in  his  behalf,  at  least  at 


236  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

wild  demonstrations  of  joy  on  his  return  to  our  shores  and  to 
shout  themselves  hoarse  in  favor  of  his  restoration  to  the  White 
House.  Among  the  more  conservative  and  thoughtful  of  the  Re 
publicans,  those  whose  memories  had  not  grown  dull,  there  was 
genuine  alarm  at  this  outburst  of  emotional  enthusiasm,  fostered 

the  start,  is  set  out  in  a  letter  to  President  Hayes  from  General  J.  M.  Comly, 
American  Minister  to  Hawaii.  General  Comly  was  in  San  Francisco  at  the  time 
of  the  great  reception  to  General  Grant  on  his  return  to  this  country  in  the 
autumn  of  1879.  Soon  after  returning  to  Honolulu,  General  Comly  wrote  the 
following  letter  to  the  President:  — 

"DEAR  GENERAL,  —  At  San  Francisco  General  Grant  sent  for  me  one  night 
at  12  o'clock  and  kept  me  (part  of  the  time  very  uneasily,  for  I  thought  it  was 
surely  too  much  of  a  tax  on  him)  until  2  A.M.  He  talked  in  the  most  interesting 
manner  of  his  entire  trip;  but  it  is  not  of  that  I  want  to  write  just  now.  I 
asked  him  frankly,  and  in  the  most  direct  and  unequivocal  English  at  my  com 
mand,  whether  he  would  be  willing  under  any  circumstances  to  allow  his  name 
to  be  brought  out  for  a  third  term,  telling  him  his  communication  could  be  as 
confidential  as  he  desired,  if  he  wished  me  to  say  nothing  on  the  subject.  He 
responded  with  the  utmost  frankness,  without  any  expression  of  an  injunction 
of  secrecy,  but  (as  I  understood)  with  a  wish  to  avoid  any  public  mention  or 
discussion.  He  said  substantially  (I  think  I  give  his  exact  language) :  '  I  do  not 
want  to  run  again.  I  would  rather  somebody  else  would  be  nominated.  I  do 
not  think  I  am  needed  for  a  candidate.  I  would  rather  they  would  take  somebody 
else.'  He  mentioned  some  names  which  he  said  were  good  strong  names  and  good 
Republicans.  Spoke  very  cordially  of  Sherman  first,  Elaine,  and  yourself.  Said 
he  was  sorry  you  had  such  an  objection  to  a  second  term.  I  think  he  referred 
to  a  reported  interview  with  you  in  Chicago,  which  came  by  telegraph  about 
that  day,  covering  that  point.  After  one  or  two  more  expressions  in  a  general 
way,  he  said,  'I  would  not  turn  my  hand  over  either  way,'  making  the  motion 
with  his  hand.  He  then  began  again  talking  about  his  trip. 

"The  conversation  changed  my  opinion  entirely  as  to  Grant's  candidacy  — 
his  willingness,  I  mean.  I  am  convinced  that  he  will  not  decline  a  nomination, 
if  tendered  with  full  acquiescence  of  leading  Republicans.  One  thing  has  made 
this  conversation  seem  of  sufficient  interest  to  justify  the  space  it  has  occupied, 
and  that  is  the  following:  Before  I  went  in  (with  Grant's  valet,  whom  he  sent 
for  me),  John  Russell  Young  said  that  Grant  was  going  to  send  for  me  after  the 
crowd  was  gone,  and  he  said  very  urgently : '  The  General  has  not  told  anybody 
about  the  third-term  business  yet.  He  has  been  asked  by  a  good  many,  and  he 
looks  straight  before  him  and  simply  refuses  to  reply  at  all.  I  know  he  will  tell 
you,  if  you  ask  him.'  I  expressed  the  astonishment  I  felt  at  such  an  assertion, 
but  Young  repeated:  'I  know  what  I  am  talking  about  —  you  ask  him  — he 
will  tell  you  all  about  it.'  The  next  morning  Young  was  passing  to  the  carriage 
with  the  party  as  I  stood  in  the  court  at  the  hotel,  and  he  ran  out  from  them  to 
say,  'Well,  it  was  as  I  told  you,  was  n't  it?' 

"Of  course  I  am  not  quite  foolish  enough  to  suppose  that  General  Grant 
talked  to  me  for  any  reason  personal  to  myself.  I  think  I  was  expected  to  write 
to  you  about  it,  —  and  have  accordingly  done  so,  —  though  I  shall  treat  the 
conversation  as  otherwise  strictly  confidential  for  the  present,  until  otherwise 
advised,  at  least." 


NOMINATION  OF  GARFIELD  237 

and  manipulated  as  it  was  by  the  men  of  "the  old  guard,'* 
with  Mr.  Conkling  at  their  head,  who  had  given  General  Grant's 
Administration  as  President  its  evil  repute.  The  cry  of  Csesar- 
ism  was  raised  and  with  undoubted  effect;  and  the  profound  feel 
ing  in  opposition  to  a  third  term  for  any  President  —  almost 
superstitious  in  its  intensity  —  which  pervades  the  great  mass 
of  Americans  was  invoked  in  protest  against  the  Stalwart  move 
ment  in  behalf  of  Grant. 

In  spite  of  all  the  forces  and  influences  of  opposition  to  their 
design,  the  reactionaries  appeared  at  the  national  convention  at 
Chicago  with  a  compact  and  devoted  body  of  delegates,  pledged 
to  the  nomination  of  Grant,  which  lacked  less  than  fourscore  of 
being  a  majority  of  the  whole  number.  The  Grant  partisans  met 
their  first  defeat  when  the  convention,  following  the  precedent  of 
four  years  before,  refused  to  allow  the  unit  rule  to  be  enforced  by 
state  delegations.  But  for  the  thirty-six  ballots  that  were  neces 
sary  to  determine  the  nomination  they  did  not  waver  in  their 
allegiance.  On  the  first  ballot  they  stood  304  strong,  on  the  last 
307;  on  no  ballot  were  they  fewer  than  302;  but  on  none  did  they 
number  more  than  313.  Mr.  Elaine  commanded  284  votes  at 
first,  and  retained  most  of  his  strength  till  the  break  came;  Mr. 
Sherman's  vote  grew  from  93  to  119.  The  rest  of  the  delegates 
were  divided  among  Edmunds,  Washburne,  and  Windom.1  On 
the  third  ballot  one  vote  was  cast  for  Garfield,  who  had  made  an 

1  Mr.  Hayes  followed  the  proceedings  at  Chicago  with  intense  interest.  His 
comment  in  his  diary,  June  5,  was:  "This  is  the  fourth  day  of  the  Chicago  Con 
vention.  It  is  probable  that  no  nomination  will  be  made  to-day.  The  friends  of 
Grant  are  apparently  working  for  delay.  It  now  seems  impossible  to  nominate 
Grant.  Elaine's  chances  are  good.  It  may  be  Sherman  or  a  fourth  —  either 
Edmunds  or  Windom.  The  defeat  of  Grant  is  due  to  the  unpopularity  of  the 
managers  of  his  canvass  and  of  their  methods.  The  third  term  and  the  general 
lack  of  availability  on  account  of  his  failure  as  President  are  also  powerful  ele 
ments  in  producing  the  result.  The  immediately  valuable  result  is  the  condemna 
tion  of  the  machine  as  organized  and  managed  by  Conkling  and  Cameron.  The 
latter  is  in  all  respects  a  failure  as  a  politician.  The  final  overthrow  of  the  unit 
rule  is  a  solid  achievement.  I  greatly  regret  that  Grant  —  our  first  soldier  and 
a  man  of  many  sterling  qualities  —  should  be  so  humiliated  and  degraded  as 
he  has  been  by  his  unprincipled  supporters. 

"Let  me  emphasize  in  my  last  message  the  idea  that  the  Constitution  should 
be  so  amended  as  to  lengthen  the  term  of  the  President  to  six  years,  and  so  as  to 
render  him  ineligible  for  a  second  term."  —  For  some  reason,  however,  Mr. 
Hayes  abandoned  the  intention  here  expressed  of  repeating  and  emphasizing 
this  recommendation. 


238  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

eloquent  speech  placing  Mr.  Sherman  in  nomination.  From  that 
ballot  on,  with  the  exception  of  four  ballots,  he  received  one  or 
two  votes  until  the  thirty-fourth  ballot  when  his  vote  rose  to  17; 
on  the  next  ballot  he  had  50  votes.  On  the  next  and  last  ballot 
the  friends  of  all  the  candidates  except  Grant,  despairing  of  any 
possibility  of  nominating  the  man  they  preferred,  went  with  a 
rush  to  Garfield  and  gave  him  399  out  of  756  votes.  Then,  to 
conciliate  the  crushed  and  humiliated  Conkling,  the  convention 
nominated  his  chief  political  lieutenant,  Chester  A.  Arthur,  — 
the  man  who  had  been  removed  by  President  Hayes  from  the 
New  York  Custom-House  for  offensive  political  activity,  —  for 
Vice-President. 

The  nomination  of  Garfield  was  a  decisive  victory  for  the 
better  elements  of  the  party,  a  condemnation  of  the  reactiona 
ries,  and  a  practical  approval  of  the  Administration  of  President 
Hayes.  General  Garfield  had  been  one  of  the  statesmen  that 
visited  Louisiana  during  the  count  of  votes  by  the  Returning 
Board  and  had  served  on  the  Electoral  Commission.  During  Mr. 
Hayes's  entire  term  he  had  been  the  Republican  leader  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  and  the  constant  and  most  effective 
advocate  and  defender  of  the  Administration's  policies.  Even 
the  nomination  of  Mr.  Sherman  could  hardly  have  been  inter 
preted  as  a  more  emphatic  expression  by  the  party  of  commenda 
tion  of  Mr.  Hayes's  conduct  of  the  Government.  The  platform 
adopted  by  the  convention  declared :  — 

That  the  purity  and  patriotism  which  characterized  the  earlier  career 
of  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  in  peace  and  war,  and  which  guided  the 
thoughts  of  our  immediate  predecessors  to  him  for  a  Presidential  candi 
date,  have  continued  to  inspire  him  in  his  career  as  Chief  Executive, 
and  that  history  will  accord  to  his  Administration  the  honors  which  are 
due  to  an  efficient,  just,  and  courteous  discharge  of  the  public  business, 
and  will  honor  his  interpositions  between  the  people  and  proposed 
partisan  laws. 

With  Mr.  Garfield  as  the  head  of  the  ticket  this  subdued, 
almost  perfunctory,  paragraph  was  dowered  with  fuller  meaning 
and  vitality.  Mr.  Hayes  saw  at  once  the  strong  points  of  Gar- 
field's  candidacy,  and  thought  it  altogether  probable  that  it  would 
be  ratified  by  the  country.1  In  his  diary  (June  11)  he  writes:  — 

1  "General  Garfield  returned  from  Ohio  this  morning  and  spent  several  hours 


NOMINATION  OF   GARFIELD  239 

General  Garfield's  nomination  at  Chicago  was  the  best  that  was  pos 
sible.  It  is  altogether  good.  The  convention  accomplished  a  great  deal 
of  good.  The  defeat  of  the  unit  rule  was  an  important  achievement;  the 
defeat  of  the  rule-or-ruin  Senators,  who  usurped  the  power  of  the  peo 
ple;  the  defeat  of  a  third  term  against  so  great  a  chieftain  as  Grant. 
There  is  much  personal  gratification  in  it;  the  defeat  of  those  who  have 
been  bitter  against  me;  the  success  of  one  who  has  uniformly  been 
friendly;  Ohio  to  the  front  also  and  again;  the  endorsement  of  me  and 
my  Administration;  the  endorsement  of  civil  service  reform.  The  sop 
thrown  to  Conkling  in  the  nomination  of  Arthur  only  serves  to  empha 
size  the  completeness  of  his  defeat.  He  was  so  crushed  that  it  was  from 
sheer  sympathy  that  this  bone  was  thrown  to  him. 

But  now,  how  to  win?  The  contest  will  be  close  and  fierce.  We  may  be 
beaten.  Oregon  begins  the  campaign  with  a  good  first  gun. 

We  must  neglect  no  element  of  success.  There  is  a  great  deal  of 
strength  in  Garfield's  life  and  struggles  as  a  self-made  man.  Let  it  be 
thoroughly  presented.  In  facts  and  incidents,  in  poetry  and  tales,  in 
pictures,  on  banners,  in  representations,  in  processions,  in  watchwords 
and  nicknames.  How  from  poverty  and  obscurity,  by  labor  at  all  avoca 
tions,  he  became  a  great  scholar,  a  statesman,  a  major-general,  a  Sena 
tor,  a  Presidential  candidate.  Give  the  amplest  details  —  a  school 
teacher,  a  laborer  on  the  canal,  the  name  of  his  boat.  The  truth  is  no 
man  ever  started  so  low  that  accomplished  so  much,  in  all  our  history. 
Not  Franklin  or  Lincoln  even. 

Once  in  about  twenty  years  a  campaign  on  personal  characteristics  is 
in  order.  General  Jackson  in  1820-24  [sic]',  General  Harrison  in  1840; 
Lincoln  in  1860;  now  Garfield  in  1880.  I  know  we  can't  repeat  in  details, 
but  in  substance  we  can.  In  this  instance  we  stand  on  the  rock  of  truth. 
Such  struggles  with  adverse  circumstances  and  such  success.  The  boy 
on  the  towpath  has  become  in  truth  the  scholar  and  the  gentleman  by  his 
own  unaided  work.  He  is  the  ideal  candidate  because  he  is  the  ideal 
self-made  man. 

If  he  were  not  in  public  life  he  would  be  equally  eminent  as  a  professor 

with  me  and  took  dinner  with  us.  He  is  a  little  hoarse  from  much  talking,  but 
is  natural  and  sensible.  I  told  him  I  thought  the  nomination  would  be  ratified 
at  the  election  with  enthusiasm  —  that  his  personal  history  as  an  ideal  self- 
made  man  would  be  a  most  popular  feature  of  the  canvass.  He  was  anxious 
to  know  the  feelings  of  Sherman  as  to  his  loyalty  to  him.  I  assured  him  on  this 
point  that  it  was  as  he  would  wish  it  to  be. 

"He  told  two  omens.  As  he  entered  the  convention  the  day  of  his  nomination 
a  man  distributing  leaves  of  the  New  Testament  handed  him  a  leaf  which  he 
(Garfield)  put  in  his  pocket.  Long  after  the  nomination,  emptying  his  pockets, 
the  leaf  was  found.  The  verse  that  was  uppermost  as  it  was  folded  read:  'The 
stone  which  the  builders  rejected,'  etc.,  etc. 

"At  1  o'clock  P.M.,  the  hour  of  the  nomination,  an  eagle  lit  on  Garfield's  house 
in  Washington  and  sat  there  several  minutes  and  was  seen  by  many  persons." 
(Diary,  June  15.) 


240  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

in  a  college,  as  a  lecturer,  as  an  author,  an  essayist,  or  a  metaphy 
sician.1 

1  Writing  to  William  Henry  Smith,  June  18,  1880,  Mr.  Hayes  said  apropos  of 
the  Chicago  Convention:  "I  am  delighted  with  it.  How  do  you  feel?  Hoar  for 
president,  the  unit  rule  (the  corner-stone  of  the  boss  system)  abolished,  Cameron 
crushed,  the  Administration  endorsed,  civil  service  reform  endorsed,  the  tri 
umvirs  beaten,  the  eager,  self-seeking  candidates  beaten,  the  office  seeking  the 
man!  What  other  convention  in  all  history  can  show  as  much  good  and  as  little 
harm? 

"Of  course  the  final  issue  is  in  doubt,  but  it  is  a  case  full  of  hope,  and  a  case 
for  presenting  a  bold  and  confident  front.  John  Thompson's  advice  should  be 
our  keynote  in  advising.  The  country  is  full  of  men  of  no  party  ties.  Garfield  is 
the  ideal  self-made  man.  Nobody  since  Dr.  Franklin  so  completely  the  work  of 
his  own  ambitious  labor.  Clay  and  Lincoln  got  their  place  by  gifts  direct  from 
Heaven.  But  the  full  man,  the  trained  man,  the  man  equipped  for  achievement, 
in  short,  the  man  like  Garfield,  is  made  by  his  own  perseverance  and  industry. 
What  an  encouragement  to  the  ambitious  young  fellows  of  our  country.  It  will 
surely  tell  in  the  canvass.  If  before  the  day  of  the  Presidential  election  we  can 
persuade  the  country  that  Garfield  is  surely  coming  in,  we  may  carry  several 
Southern  States.  What  a  victory  that  would  be!  But — " 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

AMONG   THE   PEOPLE;   NEW   ENGLAND   AND   THE   SOUTH.— 
RECONCILIATION 

DURING  the  first  year  of  his  term  Mr.  Hayes  made  several 
trips  to  different  parts  of  the  country,  accompanied  by  Mrs. 
Hayes  and  members  of  the  Cabinet.  Early  in  May  he  partici 
pated  in  the  ceremonies  attending  the  opening  of  the  permanent 
exhibition  at  Philadelphia.  Just  after  this  he  was  a  guest  at  the 
annual  Chamber  of  Commerce  dinner  in  New  York.  In  June  he 
visited  Providence  and  Boston,  being  present  at  the  Harvard 
Commencement  exercises,  when  he  received  the  honorary  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws.  On  all  these  occasions,  cities  and  individuals 
showered  attentions  —  banquets,  processions,  parades,  recep 
tions,  dinners  —  on  the  distinguished  guests.1  The  President  was 

1  Some  prominent  Democrats  in  New  York  and  Boston  were  still  so  bitter 
at  the  result  of  the  Presidential  count  that  they  refused  to  meet  the  President 
or  to  participate  in  any  of  the  attentions  shown  him.  —  At  the  banquet  given  by 
the  city  of  Boston  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  read  the  following  poem:  — 

TO  R.  B.  H. 

How  to  address  him?  awkward,  it  is  true; 

Call  him  "Great  Father,"  as  the  Red  Men  do? 

Borrow  some  title?  This  is  not  the  place 

That  christens  men  "Your  Highness"  and  "Your  Grace"; 

We  tried  such  names  as  these  awhile,  you  know, 

But  left  them  off  a  century  ago. 

"His  Majesty"?   We've  had  enough  of  that: 
Besides  that  needs  a  crown;  he  wears  a  hat. 
What  if  to  make  the  nicer  ears  content 
We  say  "His  Honesty,  the  President"? 

Sir,  we  believed  you  honest,  truthful,  brave, 
When  to  your  hands  their  precious  trust  we  gave, 
And  we  have  found  you  better  than  we  knew, 
Braver,  and  not  less  honest,  not  less  true! 
So  every  heart  has  opened,  every  hand 
Tingles  with  welcome,  and  through  all  the  land 
All  voices  greet  you  in  one  broad  acclaim, 
Healer  of  Strife!   Has  earth  a  nobler  name? 

What  phrases  mean  you  do  not  need  to  learn; 
We  must  be  civil  and  they  serve  our  turn: 
"Your  most  obedient  humble"  means  —  means  what? 
Something  the  well-bred  signer  just  is  not. 


242  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

frequently  called  upon  to  speak,  but  on  these  first  visits  he  con 
fined  himself  rigidly  to  the  briefest  possible  acknowledgment  of 
the  courtesies  he  received.  His  reticence,  while  the  public  prints 
were  ringing  with  discussion  —  effusive  praise  and  bitter  denun 
ciation  —  of  his  treatment  of  the  South,  was  variously  inter 
preted  according  as  men  were  friendly  or  hostile  to  his  course.  It 
was  his  idea  that  his  actions  should  be  allowed  to  speak  for  them 
selves,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  let  men  discuss  them  as  they 
might;  and  that  on  public  occasions,  in  which  men  of  every  polit 
ical  faith  were  participating,  political  topics  were  to  be  avoided. 
In  August  a  trip  was  made  to  Bennington,  Vermont,  to  attend 
the  centennial  celebration  of  the  Revolutionary  battle  at  that 
point,  when  the  heroic  deeds  of  Stark  and  his  Green  Mountain 
boys  were  glowingly  set  forth  in  speech  and  verse.  After  the  cele 
bration  was  over,  Mr.  Hayes  visited  the  old  home  of  his  father 
at  Brattleboro,  and  was  entertained  by  Secretary  Evarts  at  his 
Windsor  country  home.  Then  a  trip  for  the  President's  party 
through  the  White  Mountains  and  to  the  principal  towns  in  New 
Hampshire  was  planned.  This  lasted  several  days,  ending  at 
Worcester,  Massachusetts,  the  home  of  Attorney-General  Dev- 
ens.  Everywhere  the  party  was  greeted  with  popular  ovations, 
and  at  every  stop  the  President  addressed  the  people,  urging  a 
larger  spirit  of  fraternity  and  conciliation  and  national  unity. 
At  first  his  kindly  sentiments  were  rather  coldly  received,  for  the 
mass  of  New  England  Republicans  doubted  the  good  faith  of 
Southern  protestations  and  looked  with  disfavor  on  the  Presi 
dent's  course  in  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina.  But  the  earnest 
ness  and  candor  of  the  President,  the  speeches  in  support  of  his 
utterances  by  members  of  his  Cabinet  and  especially  by  Post 
master-General  Key,  and  the  approval  by  the  general  public  of 
his  words  as  these  were  published  broadcast,  all  had  effect;  and 

Yet  there  are  tokens,  sir,  you  must  believe; 
There  is  one  language  never  can  deceive; 
The  lover  knew  it  when  the  maiden  smiled; 
The  mother  knows  it  when  she  clasps  her  child; 
Voices  may  falter,  trembling  lips  turn  pale; 
Words  grope  and  stumble;  this  will  tell  their  tale 
Shorn  of  all  rhetoric,  bare  of  all  pretense, 
But  radiant,  warm,  with  Nature's  eloquence. 
Look  in  our  eyes!   Your  welcome  waits  you  there  — 
North,  South,  East,  West,  from  all  and  everywhere! 

O.  W.  H. 
June  26,  1877. 


NEW  ENGLAND  AND  THE  SOUTH  243 

the  later  speeches  of  the  trip  evoked  enthusiastic  applause. 1  The 
keynote  of  all  his  speeches  was  struck  most  clearly  at  Plymouth, 
on  the  second  day  in  New  Hampshire,  when  he  said :  — 

If  there  is  any  sentiment  that  has  guided  what  we  have  done,  it  has 
been  for  a  common  nationality.  It  has  been  our  desire  to  do  something 
for  the  people  of  all  the  States.  We  have  felt  that  war  should  end,  and 
that  peace  should  spread  through  all  our  borders.  We  hope,  as  a  result 
of  this,  that  men  shall  no  longer  be  said  to  belong  to  the  States  of  Louisi 
ana,  Maine,  or  Iowa,  but  be  citizens  of  a  common  country.  Beyond 
these  questions  of  general  good,  there  are  questions  on  which  all  may 
differ.  There  are  differences  about  policy  and  means  of  accomplishing 
the  desired  end,  but  we  do  believe  that  all  good  people  everywhere  de 
sire  reconciliation;  that  the  laws  are  to  be  obeyed,  and  that  the  rights  of 
each  and  every  citizen  should  be  respected,  whatever  his  race  or  color. 
That  being  done,  we  may  be  citizens  not  of  a  county  or  State,  but  of  a 
free  and  united  country.  It  is  because  I  believe  you  desire  this  that  I 
see  you  gathered  here  together,  Democrats,  Republicans,  and  Inde 
pendents.  It  is  my  hope  that  at  the  close  of  my  Administration  wre  may 
say,  as  Jefferson  said,  "We  are  no  longer  Federalists  and  no  longer 
Republicans,  but  now  we  are  all  Federalists  and  Republicans";  and  so 
to-night,  for  this  night  at  least,  let  us  say  that  we  are  all  Democrats  and 
all  Republicans  and  better  than  that,  all  Americans. 

1  "At  first  the  receptions  were  rather  cool.  The  people  were  a  little  suspicious 
of  this  new  Administration.   On  one  side,  they  had  been  told  by  the  politicians 
that  it  had  surrendered  to  the  South;  on  the  other,  that  it  was  counted  in  by 
fraud.   But  the  more  they  saw  of  the  President  and  his  Cabinet,  the  more  they 
liked  them.   The  patriotic  little  speeches,  devoid  of  partisanship,  ran  ahead  of 
the  party  on  the  wires  and  served  as  letters  of  introduction  and  commendation, 
and  with  them  went  accounts  of  the  President's  manly,  unpretending  bearing; 
his  magnetic  presence;  his  evident  sincerity;  and  his  hearty,  cheerful  way  of 
meeting  and  greeting  people.   The  crowds  grew  more  and  more  demonstrative 
as  the  journey  lengthened.  Whatever  prepossessions  they  had  brought  concern 
ing  his  course  as  President,  and  whether  they  were  Republicans  or  Democrats, 
they  could  not  help  liking  the  man.  As  far  down  as  Concord,  however,  the  audi 
ence  that  assembled  to  hear  the  speeches  was  not  enthusiastic,  but  the  Presi 
dent's  simple  platform  of  fraternal  feeling  between  all  sections  and  equal  rights 
for  all  citizens  won  its  way.  There  was  no  resisting  the  patriotism  and  good  sense 
of  that  sentiment.  He  repeated  it  on  all  occasions  until  he  fairly  pressed  it  into 
the  hearts  of  the  people  through  all  casings  of  misgiving  and  prejudice.    The 
evening  demonstration  at  Concord  far  surpassed  that  of  the  day,  and  the  same 
idea  of  peace  and  good  will,  which  was  dominant  in  every  speech  the  President 
made  on  the  whole  journey,  was  then  rapturously  applauded.    After  that,  all 
doubt  seemed  to  vanish  from  the  popular  mind.    At  Manchester  a  wave  of 
spontaneous  approbation  greeted  the  sentiments  of  reconciliation  and  fidelity 
to  the  Constitution;  at  Nashua  the  current  ran  still  higher,  and  at  Worcester 
it  was  a  torrent  of  genuine  enthusiasm."    (E.  V.  Smalley,  staff  correspondent, 
New  YorkJViTmne,  August  24,  1877.) 


244  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

At  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  the  following  day  he  said :  — 

I  thought  that  it  was  not  altogether  proper  in  meeting  this  people 
that  I  should  talk  politics  to  them;  men  of  all  parties  have  met  me; 
Democrats,  Republicans,  and  Independent  Republicans  —  Republicans 
that  are  satisfied  and  Republicans  that  are  dissatisfied  [applause  and 
laughter] ;  and  really  I  feel,  by  the  way  that  laugh  comes  in,  that  that  is 
a  pretty  large  crowd  here  [laughter].  But  at  any  rate,  we  are  here  not  to 
talk  politics,  and  it  does  not  seem  proper  to  me  that  one  in  my  situation 
should  argue  as  to  the  measures  he  thinks  proper  to  pursue.  What  you 
want  in  this  country  as  an  Executive  is  one  that  shall  execute.  That  I 
believe  to  be  his  duty,  and  all  that  I  want  of  my  countrymen  is  that 
charitable  judgment  that  is  proper  to  be  given  by  men  among  men,  look 
ing  each  other  in  the  face,  who  believe  that  upon  the  whole  the  man  they 
are  looking  in  the  face,  whether  he  is  right  or  wrong,  after  all  means  to 
be  right.  [Cries  of  "Good  "  and  applause.]  It  is  not  a  good  thing  to  say 
of  a  man  that  his  intentions  are  good,  —  and  there  is  a  proverb  that  a 
very  bad  place  is  paved  with  good  intentions  [laughter] ;  and  yet,  after 
all,  among  this  people  the  man  that  has  the  confidence  of  the  people  that 
he  has  good  intentions  has  gained  something,  and  perhaps  I  had  better 
stop  here  and  call  upon  some  other  —  [cries  of  "Go  on"  ].  Well,  then, 
there  is  only  one  other  thing,  and  that  is  that  up  here  in  New  Hamp 
shire,  as  in  Ohio  and  every  other  State,  you  desire  the  Union  to  be  a  real 
union  ["Amen!"]  —  union  of  hearts,  union  of  hands.  You  would  wish 
to  have  the  entire  Union  secure,  not  merely  by  force,  but  by  all  the 
affections  of  the  people  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  [Applause.]  Now, 
while  we  have  had  in  the  past  distrust  between  sections,  alienation  and 
the  hostility  of  bad  blood,  I  believe,  nevertheless,  that  with  the  cause 
removed,  the  old  harmony  and  concord  may  return  [cries  of  "Good"]; 
and  I  believe  it  will  return ;  and  I  believe  in  adopting  measures  that  will 
make  it  return  speedily.  [Applause,  and  cries  of  "Good."]  Then  I  do 
not  see  but  in  the  main  we  agree  as  to  the  most  needful  thing  to  be  done, 
and  our  only  difference  is  upon  the  measures  by  which  we  are  to  accom 
plish  that  end;  and  this  I  must  decline  altogether  to  discuss.  [Laugh ter.J 

And  at  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  two  days  later:  — 

You  entertain  very  decided  opinions  as  to  the  course  the  Government 
shall  pursue;  asj;o  who  shall  administer  it.  There  is  a  wide  diversity  of 
opinion  as  to  the  precise  measures  of  the  Government;  but  there  are  a 
few  things  I  have  acquired  the  habit  of  saying,  since  our  trip  through 
New  England  began,  upon  which  the  whole  people  of  the  United  States 
are  substantially  agreed.  We  are  all  agreed  that  hereafter,  and  for  all 
time,  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  embracing  as  it  does  the  best 
part  of  the  continent,  extending  from  the  torrid  zone  on  the  south  to  the 
frigid  zone  on  the  north;  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  on  the  east  to  the 
Pacific  on  the  west,  is  forever  hereafter  to  belong  to  one  nation  and  to 
one  nation  only.  We  are  all  agreed  that  all  the  States  of  the  Union 


NEW  ENGLAND  AND  THE  SOUTH  245 

shall  have  equal  rights;  that  every  State  is  equal  to  each  other;  that  all 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  black  or  white,  native-born  or  naturalized, 
capitalists  or  laborers,  shall  have  equal  rights  before  the  law,  and  that 
the  Government  of  the  people  shall  continue  to  be  ever  supreme  over 
all.  These  are  general  ideas  entertained  about  the  Government.  There 
are  differences  as  to  the  methods,  and  whatever  errors  may  be  made  you 
will  remember  that  it  is  our  purpose  honestly  to  pursue  a  course  in  sup 
port  of  the  propositions  I  have  offered  you.1 

Two  weeks  after  the  return  from  New  England  the  President 
set  out  on  a  trip  to  Ohio  and  the  South,  again  accompanied  by 
members  of  his  family  and  Cabinet  officers.  A  day  was  spent  at 
Marietta,  where  a  reunion  of  old  soldiers  was  in  progress.  Here 
the  President  spoke  in  the  same  vein  as  in  New  England,  winning 
loud  applause  when  he  said:  — 

All  who  are  familiar  with  the  history  of  our  country  know  that  a 
hundred  years  ago  there  was  no  North,  no  South.  The  fathers  were  one 
throughout  the  whole  country.  Washington  and  Jefferson  were  side 
by  side  with  Franklin  and  Adams.  Daniel  Morgan  and  his  Virginians 
marched  from  Virginia  to  Boston.  They  were  at  Saratoga;  and  Na- 
thanael  Greene  and  his  Continentals  were  in  the  Carolinas.  The  whole 
country  elonged  to  the  fathers.  It  is  to  that  state  of  harmony,  of  fra 
ternal  friendship,  that  we  desire  our  country  to  return.  We  are  for  the 
Union  as  it  is.  We  are  for  the  Constitution  as  it  is,  with  all  its  Amend 
ments.  We  want  the  citizens  of  every  State  to  feel  at  home  in  every  other 
State.  If  a  citizen  of  Vermont  travels  to  Georgia  or  Texas,  for  business 
or  pleasure,  we  want  him  to  feel  at  home  in  those  States.  If  a  citizen  of 
Texas  or  Georgia  travels  North,  we  want  that  citizen  to  feel  at  home 
everywhere  throughout  the  Union. 

We  may  make  mistakes  in  method,  mistakes  in  measures;  but  the 
sentiment  we  would  encourage  is  a  sentiment  of  nationality  throughout 
the  Union.  We  all  regard  the  service  of  that  four  years'  war;  we  regard 
that  period  of  four  years  as  the  most  interesting  of  our  lives.  We  fought 
then,  those  of  us  who  were  in  the  Union  army,  as  we  believed,  to  make 
this  forever  hereafter  a  united  people,  forever  hereafter  a  free  people; 
and  we  rejoice,  to-day,  to  believe  that  those  who  were  against  us  in  that 
struggle,  now  are  with  us  on  both  of  these  questions,  and  will  forever 
remain  with  us  on  both  of  these  questions. 

1  "After  four  days  in  Vermont  and  four  in  New  Hampshire,  and  a  rousing 
evening  in  Worcester,  we  are  home  again  in  good  health  and  spirits.  The  people 
seemed  pleased.  My  speeches  were  wholly  unpremeditated  —  not,  therefore, 
very  satisfactory  to  myself;  rather  slovenly  and  ill-constructed.  I  tried  to  im 
press  the  people  with  the  importance  of  harmony  between  different  sections, 
States,  classes,  and  races,  and  to  discourage  sectionalism  and  race  and  class 
prejudice."  (Diary,  August  27,  1877.) 


246  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

From  Marietta  the  President  and  his  family  went  on  to  Fre 
mont  to  spend  a  few  days  at  home.  This  stay  was  interrupted  by 
a  visit  to  Dayton  to  assist  in  the  unveiling  of  the  soldiers'  monu 
ment  at  the  National  Soldiers'  Home.1  Besides  the  old  soldiers  a 
vast  concourse  of  people  gathered  for  the  ceremony.  After  pull 
ing  the  cord  which  released  the  canvas  enshrouding  the  monu 
ment,  the  President  contrasted  that  impressive  work  of  art  with 
the  rude  memorials  which  alone  in  war-time  could  be  used  to 
mark  the  graves  of  soldiers  that  fell  in  battle;  adding:  — 

Instead  of  that  little  fragment,  perishable  and  fragile,  we  have  these 
enduring  monuments  forever  to  gaze  upon.  How  glorious  the  change! 
Does  it  not  remind  us  of  the  growth  in  the  sentiment  of  all  mankind,  of 
the  appreciation  of  the  work  that  these  men  did?  Then  we  hardly  knew 
what  was  to  be  the  result  of  it  all,  but  now  we  know  that  these  men  were 
fighting  the  battle  of  freedom  for  all  mankind.  Now  we  know  that  they 
have  saved  to  liberty  and  to  peace  the  best  part  of  the  best  continent 
on  the  globe.  As  this  work  compares  with  the  frail  cracker-box  memo 
rials,  so  does  the  work  which  they  have  done  compare  with  any  concep 
tion  of  it  which  we  then  could  have  had.  Forever  hereafter  we  shall 
remember  the  American  private  soldier  as  having  established  a  free 
nation  where  every  man  has  an  equal  chance  and  a  fair  start  in  the  race 
of  life.  This  is  the  work  of  the  American  private  soldier,  and  as  that 
monument  teaches  many  lessons  let  us  not  forget  this  one. 

Two  or  three  days  later  the  President's  old  regiment,  the 
Twenty-third  Ohio,  held  a  reunion  at  Fremont 2  which  filled  the 

1  The  President  was  entertained  at  Dayton  at  the  home  of  his  old  friend, 
R.  C.  Anderson,  from  the  steps  of  whose  house,  it  will  be  remembered,  in  the 
dark  days  after  the  election  the  year  before,  he  made  the  reassuring  speech  to  the 
throng  of  citizens  that  came  to  serenade  him.  On  this  occasion  likewise  he  was 
serenaded,  and  spoke  briefly,  recalling  the  former  speech  and  saying:  "We  want 
our  nation  to  be  a  nation  of  love  and  peace,  in  which  all  will  obey  the  Constitu 
tion  as  it  is,  with  all  its  Amendments  securing  to  all  men  equal  rights;  not  be 
cause  we  have  the  power  to  enforce  it,  but  because  it  is  the  will  of  the  people 
that  it  shall  be  so.  This  is  the  spirit  in  which  I  desire  the  Government  shall  be 
administered." 

2  Before  returning  to  Fremont  the  President  journeyed  to  Richmond,  In 
diana,  to  call  on  Senator  Morton,  who  had  been  mortally  stricken  a  few  weeks 
before  and  was  soon  to  hear  the  final  summons.   The  President  was  deeply  af 
fected  when  he  saw  the  helpless  invalid  and  bent  over  and  kissed  his  forehead. 
The  interview  was  brief,  the  Senator  expressing  his  gratification  at  the  visit  and 
assuring  the  President  that  he  should  be  well  enough  to  be  in  the  Senate  in 
December  when  he  should  give  the  Administration  earnest  support.    But  the 
end  came  November  1.    Before  that  time  he  had  sufficiently  rallied  to  return 
to  his  home  at  Indianapolis.  His  last  expression  on  public  affairs  was  a  vigorous 
letter,  published  in  the  Indianapolis  Journal  on  October  23,  urging  Republicans 


NEW  ENGLAND  AND  THE  SOUTH  247 

town  with  visitors,  among  whom  were  many  distinguished  men 
—  Chief  Justice  Waite,  Lieutenant-General  Sheridan,  Secretary 
McCrary,  Generals  Cox,  Rosecrans,  Scammon,  and  others. 
President  Hayes  presided  at  the  meeting  in  the  public  square, 
when  Major  McKinley,  the  orator  of  the  day,  eloquently  re 
counted  the  services  of  the  famous  regiment,1  and  General  Sheri 
dan  added  a  word  in  testimony  of  its  "merits  and  gallantry." 
Short  speeches  were  made  by  the  other  men  of  note  present,  and 
after  the  exercises  were  over  the  members  of  the  regiment  and 
their  guests  marched  to  Spiegel  Grove,  where  Mrs.  Hayes  served 
them  with  supper,  while  old  friendships  were  renewed  and  battles 
were  fought  over  again. 

The  next  day  (Saturday,  September  15)  Mr.  Hayes  and  his 
party  journeyed  to  Cincinnati,  being  greeted  at  every  town  where 
the  train  stopped  by  throngs  of  people  eager  to  see  and  hear  the 
President.  Cincinnati,  brilliantly  decorated  and  illuminated, 
welcomed  its  famous  former  townsman  with  a  great  public  recep 
tion.  Dr.  Max  Lilienthal,  in  his  address  of  welcome,  speaking  of 
what  the  President  had  already  accomplished  for  the  unity  of  the 
country,  said:  "The  sword  is  sheathed,  and  you  stand  before  the 
nation,  offering  all  the  laurel  of  peace,  brotherly  love,  and  mutual 
good-will.  The  nation  at  large  is  with  you;  the  nation  applauds 
you."  Mr.  Hayes  in  his  reply  was  glad  to  find  in  the  greeting  of 
his  old  neighbors  evidence  that  his  policy  of  conciliation  met  with 
popular  approval;  glad  to  assure  his  hearers  that  there  were  signs 
of  returning  prosperity.  Continuing,  he  said:  — 

We  do  not  claim  for  any  Administration  the  advantages  that  come 
to  the  country  from  good  crops;  but,  my  friends,  it  seems  to  me  that  we 
may  ask  some  approval  from  our  fellow  citizens  if  we  have  placed  a  large 
part  of  our  country  in  a  condition  to  give  their  full  attention  to  the 

not  to  break  with  the  President  because  of  his  Southern  and  civil  service 
policies.  The  President,  in  ordering  the  executive  offices  closed  on  the  day  of  the 
funeral,  said  of  Morton:  "In  all  things  and  at  all  times  he  has  been  able,  strenu 
ous,  and  faithful  in  the  public  service,  and  his  fame  with  his  countrymen  rests 
upon  secure  foundations." 

1  Of  the  President  Major  McKinley  said:  "The  surviving  members  of  his  old 
regiment  receive  him  with  boundless  cordiality,  with  the  highest  affection  and 
most  genuine  respect,  and  now,  as  always,  rejoice  most  heartily  in  the  high 
honors  which,  unsought,  have  come  to  him,  and  which  none  know  so  well  as  we 
how  worthily  he  will  wear,  and  how  wisely  and  conscientiously  he  will  discharge 
every  duty  which  they  impose.** 


248  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

raising  of  crops.  As  long  as  discontent  with  the  Government  and  with 
their  fellow  citizens  of  the  North  existed  in  the  Southern  States,  we  all 
know  that  politics  would  receive  more  attention  than  business.  But  now 
I  think  I  am  authorized  to  say  to  you  that  the  whole  Southern  coun 
try  begins  to  think  more  of  industry,  of  improvements,  of  business,  than 
of  politics.  No  part  of  our  country  can  lack  prosperity  without  affecting 
the  prosperity  of  the  whole  country,  and  the  prosperity  of  one  section  is 
the  prosperity  of  all  sections.  It  is  with  ideas  like  these  that  we  enter 
upon  the  work  of  pacification.  It  has  been  my  good  fortune,  during  the 
last  ten  days,  to  be  present  at  three  great  soldiers'  reunions  —  soldiers  of 
the  North  —  and  passing  among  them,  and  gathering  their  opinion,  I 
found  that,  one  and  all,  they  are  ready  to  come  again  to  the  ancient 
friendship  and  harmony  with  the  South,  upon  the  sole  basis  of  a  cordial 
recognition  of,  and  obedience  to,  the  Constitution  as  it  now  is,  with  all  its 
recent  Amendments. 

I  feel  upon  this  subject  that  I  am  treading  in  the  pathway  marked 
out  by  the  fathers  as  they  stood,  shoulder  to  shoulder  and  side  by  side  — 
men  of  the  North  and  men  of  the  South;  and  I  wish  to  see  the  day  within 
the  next  three  or  four  years  when  again  all  causes  of  dissension  will,  like 
slavery,  be  removed  forever,  and  when  once  more  the  ancient  concord 
and  friendship  will  be  restored.  [Loud  and  prolonged  cheering.]  This  is 
my  hope;  this  is  my  ambition  —  to  do  something  to  promote  and  ad 
vance  this  great  purpose.  When  you  approve  of  that,  my  fellow  citizens, 
you  approve  what  I  am  trying  to  do. 

Sunday  was  spent  quietly  at  the  home  of  the  President's  old 
friend,  Dr.  John  Davis.  Monday  morning  the  journey  was  made 
to  Louisville,  attended  by  a  committee  of  representative  citizens 
of  Kentucky  that  had  been  sent  on  to  escort  the  President's 
party.1  The  chairman  of  this  committee  was  W.  N.  Haldeman, 
president  of  the  Courier- Journal,  whose  brilliant  editor,  Henry 
Watterson,  eight  months  before  was  declaring  that  he  would 
lead  a  hundred  thousand  Kentuckians  to  Washington  to  inaugu 
rate  Tilden.  Now  Democratic  Kentucky  was  ready  to  outdo 
Republican  Ohio  in  the  cordiality  of  its  welcome  to  Mr.  Hayes. 
Nothing  that  Southern  hospitality  could  suggest  was  omitted  in 
the  attentions  paid  to  the  illustrious  visitors  in  their  two  days 
at  Louisville.  In  his  speech  of  welcome  the  Reverend  Stuart 

1  In  the  party  were  the  President  and  Mrs.  Hayes  and  their  two  sons  Birchard 
and  Webb;  Miss  Platt  and  Miss  McFarland;  Secretary  Evarts  and  two  daughters 
and  son;  Messrs.  Schurz,  McCrary,  and  Key;  Governor  Van  Zandt,  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  Governor  Matthews,  of  West  Virginia;  besides  newspaper  corre 
spondents  and  committee  men.  At  Louisville  Governor  Wade  Hampton,  of  South 
Carolina,  joined  the  party. 


RECONCILIATION  249 

Robinson  declared  that  he  voiced  the  feeling  of  all  intelligent 
Kentuckians,  regardless  of  party,  in  giving,  "besides  the  for 
mal  official  welcome,  the  warm  welcome  of  the  heart"  to  the 
Chief  Magistrate  who  had  won  the  confidence  and  esteem  of 
the  South  "by  his  firm  and  steadfast  determination  to  rise 
above  all  partisan  considerations  and  be  the  President  of  the 
whole  country." 

The  President  in  his  reply  spoke  of  the  ancient  friendship  be 
tween  Ohio  and  Kentucky;  of  the  estrangement  that  came  about 
and  the  war  that  ensued,  due  to  a  cause  for  which  neither  State 
was  responsible  and  which  neither  alone  could  remove,  and  then 
proceeded :  — 

The  true  history  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky  is  an  epitome  of  all  the  rest  of 
the  country;  and  now  when  the  cause  is  removed,  whatever  the  hostil 
ity,  whatever  the  prejudice,  whatever  the  estrangement,  let  them  also  be 
removed.  [Applause.] 

I  have  been,  fellow  soldiers,  during  the  last  few  days,  among  the  sol 
diers  of  the  Union,  and  the  men  more  early  to  come  together  after  the 
great  division  are  those  who  made  the  acquaintance  of  one  another  on 
the  field  of  carnage.  I  have  found  it  true  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
and  I  have  found  it  true  here  in  Kentucky.  .  .  .  Oh,  we  have  come 
together.  [Applause.]  The  demonstration  in  Louisville  tells  the  whole 
story.  I  need  not  shout  myself  hoarse  before  this  great  audience,  mak 
ing  a  speech  about  the  happiness  and  peace  that  we  are  now  enjoying 
in  all  sections  of  the  Union.  This  demonstration  has  made  the  speech 
of  the  occasion.  Nothing  can  be  added  to  it.  I  think  we  can  confidently 
look  forward  to  fraternal  union  on  the  basis  of  the  Constitution  as  it 
now  is,  with  all  the  Amendments. 

My  friends,  my  Confederate  friends,  do  you  intend  to  obey  the  whole 
Constitution  and  Amendments?  [Applause.]  I  thought  you  would.  I 
believe  you  will,  and  that  removes  the  last  cause  of  dissension  between 
us.  I  look  forward  happily  to  the  realization  of  the  bright  vision  of  a 
popular  English  author  when  he  said,  "I  see  a  vast  confederacy  stretch 
ing  from  the  frozen  North  to  the  glowing  South,  from  the  white  billows 
of  the  Atlantic  to  the  calm  waters  of  the  Pacific  main,  that  would  con 
tain  one  people,  one  language,  and  one  faith,  and  everywhere  a  home  for 
freemen,  and  a  refuge  of  every  race  and  of  every  clime  to  come  together." 
[Great  applause.] 

All  the  other  speeches  by  members  of  the  Cabinet  and  Gover 
nors  breathed  the  same  spirit  of  reconciliation  and  fraternity. 
Notable  among  them  was  the  speech  of  Governor  Hampton, 
whom  the  President  introduced  as  "  a  noble  and  patriotic  man," 


250  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

and  who  was  received  with  tumultuous  applause  as  he  com 
mended  the  President  for  having  "risen  high  enough  to  be  able 
to  say  that  he  serves  his  party  best  who  serves  his  country  best  — 
a  sentiment  which  ought  to  find  a  response  in  the  breast  of  every 
patriotic  American." 

From  Louisville  the  party  passed  on  to  Nashville,  Chatta 
nooga,  Knoxville,  Atlanta,  Lynchburg,  and  Charlottesville. 
Everywhere  along  the  route  people  thronged  to  the  stations  to 
welcome  and  applaud  the  travellers.  At  the  cities  named  the 
scenes  at  Louisville  were  repeated,  the  enthusiasm  and  warmth 
of  welcome  increasing  with  every  new  demonstration.  The 
North  observed  with  incredulity  and  pleased  surprise,  till  at  last 
it  began  to  dawn  upon  the  public  consciousness  that  bygones 
were  actually  being  treated  as  bygones,  that  men  were  ceasing  to 
dwell  upon  the  past  and  were  fixing  their  eyes  on  the  future,1  and 
that  a  common  feeling  of  nationality  was  penetrating  the  hearts 
of  the  people  of  all  sections.  Governor  Porter  at  Nashville  de 
clared  that  Tennessee  paid  homage  to  the  President  because  of 
gratitude  to  him  "for  bringing  peace  to  the  country."  Governor 
Colquitt,  of  Georgia,  welcomed  the  President  to  Atlanta  as  the 
"peacemaker  between  brethren  estranged."  "If  the  agencies," 
he  went  on,  "which  lately  brought  forty  millions  of  people  into 
fearful  and  unhappy  conflict  excited  the  attention  of  the  whole 
world,  the  moral  purpose,  the  firm  will  of  the  fortunate  Magis 
trate  who  is  first  to  control  and  calm  the  spirit  which  raised  this 
mighty  strife,  will  attract  the  admiration  and  plaudits  of  the  good 
everywhere  on  earth  where  good  will  to  man  prevails." 

Mr.  Hayes's  speech  at  Atlanta  was  the  climax  of  all  the  kindly 
expressions  that  he  had  made  on  Southern  soil,  though  it  was 
the  same  in  its  general  trend  of  thought.  The  more  significant 
paragraphs  were :  — 

I  suppose  that  here,  as  everywhere  else,  I  am  in  the  presence  of  men 
of  both  great  political  parties.  I  am  speaking,  also,  in  the  presence  of 
citizens  of  both  races.  I  am  quite  sure  that  there  are  before  me  very 
many  of  the  brave  men  who  fought  in  the  Confederate  army  [applause]; 

1  As  Wade  Hampton  said  in  his  speech  at  Chattanooga:  "  If  not  forgetting  the 
past,  at  least  drawing  a  curtain  over  it,  looking  not  at  the  bloody  past,  which  is 
full  of  sorrow  to  all  of  us,  but  looking  forward  to  a  brighter  and  higher  future, 
when  all  of  us  can  march  on  bravely,  honestly,  truthfully,  each  one  doing  his 
duty  to  the  whole  country,  leaving  the  consequences  to  God." 


RECONCILIATION  251 

some,  doubtless,  of  the  men  who  fought  in  the  Union  army.  [Applause.] 
And  here  we  are,  Republicans,  Democrats,  colored  people,  white  people, 
Confederate  soldiers,  and  Union  soldiers,  all  of  one  mind  and  one  heart 
to-day!  [Immense  cheering.]  And  why  should  we  not  be?  What  is 
there  to  separate  us  longer?  Without  any  fault  of  yours  or  any  fault  of 
mine,  or  of  any  one  of  this  great  audience,  slavery  existed  in  this  coun 
try.  It  was  in  the  Constitution  of  the  country.  The  colored  man  was 
here,  not  by  his  own  voluntary  action.  It  was  the  misfortune  of  his 
fathers  that  he  was  here.  I  think  it  is  safe  to  say  that  it  was  by  the  crime 
of  our  fathers  that  he  was  here.  He  was  here,  however,  and  we  of  the 
two  sections  differed  about  what  should  be  done  with  him.  As  Mr.  Lin 
coln  told  us  in  the  war,  there  were  prayers  on  both  sides  for  him.  Both 
sides  found  in  the  Bible  confirmation  of  their  opinions,  and  both  sides 
finally  undertook  to  settle  the  question  by  that  last  final  means  of  arbi 
tration  —  force  of  arms.  You  here  mainly  joined  the  Confederate  side, 
and  fought  bravely,  risked  your  lives  heroically  in  behalf  of  your  convic 
tions  ;  and  can  I,  can  any  true  man  anywhere,  fail  to  respect  the  man  who 
risks  his  life  for  his  convictions?  [Prolonged  cheers.]  And  as  I  accord 
that  respect  to  you,  and  believe  you  to  be  equally  liberal  and  generous 
and  just,  I  feel  that,  as  I  stand  before  you  as  one  who  fought  in  the  Union 
army  for  his  convictions,  I  am  entitled  to  your  respect.  [Cheers.]  Now 
that  conflict  is  over,  my  friends. 

Governor  Hampton  repeated  to  you  last  night  the  way  in  which  I  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  putting  it  since  I  came  to  the  South.  There  was 
a  larger  proportion  of  trained  soldiers  in  your  army  at  first  than  in 
ours;  in  a  much  larger  proportion  you  were  good  marksmen  and  good 
horsemen  —  and  that  is  two  thirds  of  a  good  soldier.  [Laughter.] 
But  gradually  we  learned  to  ride,  too  [laughter] ;  and,  as  some  of  you 
know,  gradually  we  learned  to  shoot.  [Renewed  laughter.]  I  happen 
to  know  how  well  you  shoot.  [Cheers.]  Well,  having  learned  how  to 
ride  and  shoot,  then  it  was  a  case  of  fight  between  Greek  and  Greek; 
and  when  Greek  meets  Greek  you  know  what  the  conflict  is;  and  more 
than  that,  you  know  exactly  how  it  will  terminate.  That  party  in  that 
fight  will  always  conquer  that  has  the  most  Greeks.  [Laughter  and 
cheers.]  So,  with  no  discredit  to  you  and  no  special  credit  to  us,  the 
war  turned  out  as  it  did.  [Cheers.] 

Now,  shall  we  quit  fighting?  [Cries  of  "Yes,  yes!"]  I  have  been  in 
the  habit  of  telling  an  anecdote  of  General  Scott  and  a  statesman  at 
Washington,  in  which  the  statesman  said  that  as  soon  as  the  war  was 
over  and  the  combatants  laid  down  their  arms,  we  should  have  complete 
peace.  "No,"  said  General  Scott,  "it  will  take  several  years  in  which 
all  the  powers  of  the  general  Government  will  be  employed  in  keeping 
peace  between  the  belligerent  non-combatants!"  [Laughter.]  Now,  I 
think,  we  have'got  through  with  that  [cheers],  and  having  peace  between 
the  soldiers  and  the  non-combatants,  that  is  an  end  of  the  war.  Is  there 
any  reason,  then,  why  we  should  not  be  at  peace  forevermore?  We  are 
embarked  upon  the  same  voyage,  upon  the  same  ship,  under  the  same 


RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

old  flag.  Good  fortune  or  ill  fortune  affects  you  and  your  children  as  well 
as  my  people  and  my  children.  [Cheers.] 

Every  interest  you  possess  is  to  be  promoted  by  peace.  Here  is  this 
great  city  of  Atlanta,  gathering  to  itself  from  all  parts  of  the  country  its 
wealth  and  business  by  its  railroads;  and  I  say  to  you  that  every  descrip 
tion  of  industry  and  legitimate  business  needs  peace.  That  is  what  cap 
ital  wants.  Discord,  discontent,  and  dissatisfaction  are  the  enemies  of 
these  enterprises.  Then,  all  our  interests  are  for  peace.  Are  we  not  agreed 
about  that?  What  do  we  want  for  the  future?  I  believe  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  general  Government  to  regard  equally  and  alike  the  interests  and 
rights  of  all  sections  of  this  country.  [Cheers.]  I  am  glad  that  you  agree 
with  me  about  that.  I  believe,  further,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Govern 
ment  to  regard  alike  and  equally  the  rights  and  interests  of  all  classes  of 
citizens.  [Cheers.]  That  covers  the  whole  matter.  That  wipes  out  in 
the  future  in  our  politics  the  section  line  forever.  [Cheers.]  Let  us  wipe 
out  in  our  politics  the  color  line  forever.  [Cheers.] 

And  let  me  say  a  word  upon  what  has  been  done.  I  do  not  undertake 
to  discuss  or  defend  particular  measures.  I  leave  the  people  with  their 
knowledge  of  the  facts  to  examine,  discuss,  and  decide  for  themselves  as 
to  them.  I  speak  of  general  considerations  and  notions.  What  troubles 
our  people  at  the  North,  what  has  troubled  them,  was  that  they  feared 
that  these  colored  people,  who  had  been  made  freemen  by  the  war,  would 
not  be  safe  in  their  rights  and  interests  in  the  South  unless  it  was  by  the 
interference  of  the  general  Government.  Many  good  people  had  that 
idea.  I  had  given  that  matter  some  consideration,  and  now,  my  colored 
friends,  who  have  thought,  or  who  have  been  told,  that  I  was  turning  my 
back  upon  the  men  whom  I  fought  for,  now,  listen !  After  thinking  over 
it,  I  believed  that  your  rights  and  interests  would  be  safer  if  this  great 
mass  of  intelligent  white  men  wrere  let  alone  by  the  general  Government. 
[Immense  enthusiasm  and  cheering  for  several  minutes.]  And  now,  my 
colored  friends,  let  me  say  another  thing.  We  have  been  trying  it  for 
these  six  months,  and,  in  my  opinion  in  no  six  months  since  the  war  have 
there  been  so  few  outrages  and  invasions  of  your  rights,  nor  you  so  se 
cure  in  your  rights,  persons,  and  homes,  as  in  the  last  six  months.  [Great 
cheering.] 

Then,  my  friends,  we  are  all  together  upon  one  proposition.  We  be 
lieve,  and  in  this  all  those  who  are  here  agree,  in  the  Union  of  our  fa 
thers,  in  the  old  flag  of  our  fathers,  the  Constitution  as  it  is  with  all  its 
Amendments,  and  are  prepared  to  see  it  fully  and  fairly  obeyed  and 
enforced.  [Cheers.]  Now,  my  friends,  I  see  it  stated  occasionally  that 
President  Hayes  has  taken  the  course  he  has  because  he  was  compelled 
to  it.  [Voices  —  "We  don't  believe  it!"]  Now,  I  was  compelled  to  it. 
[Applause.]  I  was  compelled  to  it  by  my  sense  of  duty  under  my  oath  of 
office.  [Intense  euthusiasm  and  cheers.]  What  was  done  by  us  was 
done,  not  merely  by  force  of  special  circumstances,  but  because  it  was 
just  and  right  to  do  it.  [Cheers.] 

Now,  let  us  come  together.  Let  each  man  make  up  his  mind  to  be  a 


RECONCILIATION  253 

patriot  in  his  own  home  and  place.  You  may  quarrel  about  the  tariff,  get 
up  a  sharp  contest  about  the  currency,  about  the  removal  of  state  cap 
itals  and  where  they  shall  go  to  [laughter],  but  upon  the  great  question 
of  the  Union  of  the  States  and  the  rights  of  all  the  citizens,  we  shall 
agree  forevermore. 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  enthusiasm  which  these  senti 
ments  of  the  President  evoked.  "  It  was  plain  to  one  on  the  plat 
form,  looking  in  the  eyes  of  the  multitude,  that  the  people  liked 
his  face  and  manner  to  begin  with;  and  before  he  had  spoken  a 
dozen  sentences  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  they  liked  his 
speech,  for  their  applause  was  unmistakably  spontaneous  and 
earnest."  1 

In  his  last  speech  on  the  trip,  that  at  Charlottesville,  the  Presi 
dent  rejoiced  that  everywhere  in  the  States  through  which  he 
had  passed  he  had  found  "growing  and  increasing  sentiments  in 
behalf  of  the  Union,  the  Constitution,  and  the  Administration 
which  regard  alike  the  interests  and  rights  of  every  section  and 
every  State;  which  regard  alike  and  equally  all  classes,  without 
distinction  of  race  or  color.  The  equality  under  the  laws  of  all 
citizens,"  he  continued,  "is  the  corner-stone  of  the  structure  of 
restored  harmony  from  which  ancient  friendship  is  to  rise.  In 
this  pathway  I  am  going,  the  pathway  where  your  illustrious 
men  led  —  your  Jefferson,  Madison,  Monroe,  and  your  Wash 
ington.  Our  hope  is  that  the  people  of  the  whole  country  will 
unite  to  reconcile  the  feeling  which  prevailed  when  the  Union  was 
formed.  We  wish  to  see  what  the  fathers  gave  us  preserved  and 
transmitted  to  those  who  come  after." 

Major  Bickham,  of  the  Dayton  Journal,  who  accompanied  the 
party  with  many  misgivings,  returned  to  write  glowingly  of  the 
"amazing  journey."  "It  was  more  in  the  nature  of  a  triumphal 
march,"  he  declared,  "celebrating  the  reestablishment  of  peace 
and  good  will,  than  anything  else  with  which  I  can  compare  it; 
and  the  President  deported  himself  with  a  dignity,  ability,  self- 
possession,  and  manliness  that  was  deeply  gratifying  to  those 
who  know  him  well.  I  believe  that  the  President's  Southern  tour 
will  prove  vastly  beneficial  to  the  country.  It  has  already  estab 
lished  a  better  feeling,  and  has  opened  wide  the  gates  to  perma 
nent  pacification."  2 

1  Staff  correspondence  New  York  Tribune,  September  24,  1877. 
_  *  The  impression  inadejay  this  long  Southern  excursion  was  deepened  a  month 


254  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

It  is  true,  of  course,  that  all  sectional  bitterness  and  mutual 
distrust,  misunderstanding  and  recrimination  between  North 
and  South  did  not  cease.  The  causes  were  too  deep-seated,  the 
conditions  were  of  too  long  duration,  to  be  removed  or  reformed 
except  by  slow  and  patient  processes.  It  seemed  for  the  moment, 
when  all  the  country  was  stirred  by  the  patriotic  eloquence  of  the 
Southern  leaders  in  their  welcoming  speeches  and  by  the  enthu 
siasm  of  the  popular  greetings  to  the  President,  that  North  and 
South  were  already  completely  reconciled.  The  event  proved 
that  this  was  far  from  the  fact.  Its  realization  was  delayed  un 
doubtedly  by  the  activities  of  foolish  or  selfish  politicians,  as  well 
as  by  the  outbreaks  of  violence  and  terrorism  which  the  desper 
ate  exigencies  of  local  politics  were  supposed  in  parts  of  the 
South  to  justify.  But  the  attitude  Mr.  Hayes  assumed  and 
maintained  toward  the  South;  the  large  and  liberal  and  benevo 
lent  spirit  in  which  he  met  the  Southern  people  and  discussed 
their  relations  to  the  general  Government;  the  sympathy,  the 
patience,  the  confidence  he  displayed  in  dealing  with  sensitive, 
high-spirited,  and  easily  offended  Southern  leaders,  —  all  this, 
while  it  did  not,  as  Mr.  Hayes  had  fondly  hoped  it  might,  make  a 
breach  in  the  political  solidity  of  the  South,  exercised  vast  and 
permanent  influence  in  easing  the  asperities  of  mutual  intercourse 
and  discussion  of  the  two  sections,  in  bringing  about  a  far  better 
understanding  of  each  other,  and  in  turning  the  thoughts  of  the 
country  more  and  more  away  from  the  issues  of  the  war  to  the 
new  problems  that  were  pressing  for  solution. 

later  by  a  visit  of  the  President  and  members  of  the  Cabinet  to  Richmond, 
Virginia,  when  the  greatest  cordiality  and  good  feeling  were  displayed,  and  the 
orators  of  the  two  sections  vied  with  each  other  in  patriotic  utterances. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

AMONG  THE  PEOPLE;  THE  NORTHWEST  — AN  HONEST  DOLLAR 

NUMEROUS  short  trips  were  made  by  the  President  in  the 
following  year  to  attend  civic  gatherings  or  celebrations 
of  one  sort  or  another.  The  most  notable  of  these  was  his  visit  to 
Gettysburg  to  take  part  in  the  Memorial  Day  exercises  of  May 
30.  He  was  attended  by  many  Congressmen  and  high  officers 
of  the  army  and  of  the  executive  departments.  General  Butler 
was  the  orator  of  the  day,  and  undaunted  by  a  persistent  shower 
of  rain  he  spoke  most  eloquently  of  the  services  of  the  private 
soldier.  Then,  with  the  rain  still  descending,  the  President  made 
this  brief  speech :  — 

Fellow  Citizens,  —  The  battle  of  Gettysburg  will  probably  always  be 
regarded  as  the  battle  which  did  more  than  any  other  to  determine  the 
result  of  the  great  Civil  War  in  the  United  States.  The  honored  dead 
who  fought  and  perished  here  will  therefore  be  forever  held  in  special 
and  grateful  remembrance.  The  great  martyr  of  the  conflict  was  Abra 
ham  Lincoln.  He,  by  his  immortal  words  spoken  here,  has  indissolubly 
linked  his  name,  fame,  and  memory  with  the  battle  of  Gettysburg. 
Lincoln  gave  his  life,  and  the  brave  men  who  responded  to  his  call  gave 
their  lives,  for  the  Union,  for  liberty,  and  for  a  stable  constitutional 
government.  They  believed  that  our  institutions  were  equal  to  any 
emergency,  and  that  they  ought  to  be  maintained  at  the  cost  of  prop 
erty  or  of  life.  If  our  assembling  in  this  place  shall  fitly  honor  the  men 
we  now  wish  remembered  with  gratitude,  it  will  be  because,  beholding 
these  scenes  and  contemplating  the  example  of  the  heroes  who  made 
Gettysburg  illustrious,  we  shall  be  able  to  estimate  more  wisely  the 
value  of  our  country  and  of  her  institutions  and  be  better  prepared  for 
the  duties  which,  under  Providence,  have  devolved  upon  us.  Let  us 
here  give  heed  to  the  words  of  Abraham  Lincoln;  let  us  "here  highly 
resolve  that  these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain,  that  this  nation, 
under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that  government 
of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the 
earth." 

A  month  later  the  President  with  a  numerous  party  went  to 
Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  where,  on  July  3,  the  centennial  an 
niversary  of  the  Wyoming  massacre  was  commemorated  by  a 


256  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

great  outpouring  of  people.  Mr.  Hayes  made  a  short  speech,  in 
which  he  said :  — 

To-day's  celebration  is  peculiar.  It  is  not  the  celebration  of  a  vic 
tory;  it  is  a  pioneer  celebration,  commemorative  of  the  virtues  of  the 
men  and  women  who  reclaimed  the  wilderness.  Every  part  of  the  coun 
try  has  its  pioneer  history.  All  had  similar  disasters.  And  to-day  in 
Dakota  and  Arizona,  and  on  the  borders  of  Texas,  the  people  are  having 
like  experiences.  The  virtues  and  hardihood  of  Wyoming  are  the  virtues 
that  we  celebrate  to-day;  and  the  lesson  of  this  day  is  that  the  pioneer 
settlers  should  be  protected. 

Indians  have  been  led  by  bad  white  men,  and  war  has  sometimes 
been  inevitable.  In  all  cases  we  want  to  see  that  settlers  have  sufficient 
military  forces  to  protect  them.  The  history  of  Wyoming  has  been  re 
peated  for  want  of  sufficient  force  to  make  war  upon  the  savage  suc 
cessfully  when  it  has  become  necessary  to  fight  him.  These  two  points 
I  wish  to  make:  first,  that  the  red  man  should  be  treated  with  justice; 
second,  if  war  shall  become  necessary,  there  should  be  a  power  sufficient 
to  protect  the  white  man  and  compel  the  red  man  to  submit  to  law  and 
order. 

In  September  the  most  important  trip  of  the  year,  and  one  of 
the  most  important  of  his  entire  term  of  office,  was  undertaken 
by  the  President.  This  was  to  Chicago  and  the  Northwest  as 
far  as  Fargo,  North  Dakota.  The  principal  object  of  the  journey 
was  to  speak  at  the  Minnesota  State  Fair.  But  every  town 
through  which  the  President's  party  could  pass  was  eager  to  see 
and  hear  the  President,  and  the  trip  became  a  progress  much  like 
that  of  the  autumn  before  through  the  South.  Everywhere  the 
President  was  received  with  the  greatest  popular  enthusiasm, 
and  every  sort  of  official  attention  and  public  demonstration  in 
his  honor  filled  the  time.  The  year  before  the  President  on  all 
occasions  had  sought  in  his  speeches  to  mollify  the  spirit  of  sec 
tional  animosity  and  to  win  wider  approval  of  his  conciliatory 
course  in  relation  to  the  South.  This  year  the  country  was  in  the 
midst  of  the  congressional  campaign.  While  business  conditions 
had  improved  and  the  signs,  of  returning  prosperity  were  many, 
while  the  plans  of  the  Administration  for  the  approaching  re 
sumption  of  specie  payments  had  brilliantly  succeeded  and  the 
premium  on  gold  had  sunk  almost  to  the  vanishing  point,  men 
were  still  complaining  of  hard  times,  were  fearful  that  resump 
tion  would  be  attended  with  further  financial  stringency,  and 
were  clamorous  for  more  and  cheaper  money.  In  his  speeches 


THE  NORTHWEST  — AN  HONEST  DOLLAR  257, 

this  year,  therefore,  the  President  dwelt  upon  the  improved 
condition  of  the  public  finances,  upon  the  growing  indications 
of  returning  prosperity ;  and  he  proclaimed  with  all  his  old-time 
vigor  the  sound-money  principles  which  he  had  always  defended 
and  had  sought  to  have  enforced.  His  statements  of  fact  and 
his  forceful  arguments,  couched  in  language  that  appealed  to 
the  average  intelligence,  and  presented  with  the  earnestness  of 
conviction,  had  wide  influence  in  allaying  the  fears  and  in  stim 
ulating  the  hopefulness  of  the  country  in  regard  alike  to  the  Gov 
ernment's  financial  stability  and  to  the  early  return  of  prosperous 
conditions  in  the  business  and  industrial  world. 

Mr.  Hayes  set  forth  his  views  with  greatest  fulness  and  elab 
oration  in  the  carefully  prepared  speech  which  he  delivered  at 
the  Minnesota  State  Fair  at  St.  Paul  (September  5).  He  began 
by  saying:  — 

I  know  very  well  that  nothing  which  I  can  do  or  say  will  be  a  fitting 
and  adequate  return  for  your  kindness,  but  I  earnestly  desire  to  say 
something  touching  the  material  interests  of  the  country  which  will 
tend,  at  least,  to  encourage  those  who  need  encouragement,  and  to  give 
increased  hope  to  those  who  are  already  hopeful. 

The  most  interesting  questions  in  public  affairs  which  now  engage  the 
attention  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  are  those  which  relate  to 
the  financial  condition  of  the  country.  Since  the  financial  panic  and 
collapse  five  years  ago,  capital  and  labor  and  business  capacity  have 
found  it  hard  to  get  profitable  employment.  We  have  had  what  is  com 
monly  and  properly  known  as  hard  times.  In  such  times  men  naturally 
ask,  What  can  be  done?  How  long  is  this  stagnation  of  business  to  last? 
Are  there  any  facts  which  indicate  an  early  return  to  better  times? 
I  wish  to  ask  your  attention  for  a  few  minutes  while  I  present  some  facts 
and  figures  which  show  a  progressive  improvement  in  the  financial  con 
dition  of  the  general  Government.  It  will  be  for  you  to  consider  what 
inferences  may  fairly  be  drawn  as  to  their  bearing  on  the  question  of  a 
revival  of  business  prosperity  throughout  the  country. 

The  financial  condition  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  is 
shown  by  its  debt,  its  receipts  and  expenditures,  the  currency,  and  the 
state  of  trade  with  foreign  countries. 

The  President  then  set  forth  in  detail  the  great  reduction  in 
the  national  debt,  with  the  consequent  diminution  of  the  annual 
interest  charge,  the  decrease  in  public  expenditures  and  the  low 
ering  of  taxes,  and  the  vast  increase  in  foreign  trade,  the  exports 
for  the  current  year  being  the  largest  in  the  history  of  the  coun 
try.  He  proceeded:  — 


258  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

As  we  have  already  seen,  the  balance  of  trade  in  the  last  three  years 
in  favor  of  the  United  States  is  $488,582,539,  or  an  average  of  more  than 
$160,000,000  a  year.  The  balance  of  trade  the  last  year,  if  compared 
with  that  of  the  two  years  next  before  the  panic,  shows  a  gain  in  favor 
of  the  United  States,  in  one  year,  of  over  $400,000,000. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  I  should  dwell  on  the  importance  of  this 
favorable  state  of  the  balance  of  trade.  Balances  must  be  settled  in 
cash  —  in  the  money  of  the  world.  The  enterprises  of  our  business  men 
reach  out  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  Our  agricultural  and  manufactured 
products  more  and  more  seek  and  find  their  markets  in  foreign  coun 
tries.  The  commerce  of  all  parts  of  the  world,  bound  together  more 
than  ever  before  by  steamships,  railroads,  and  the  telegraph,  is  so  con 
nected  that  it  must  be  conducted  on  the  same  principles  and  by  the 
same  instrumentalities  by  all  who  take  part  in  it. 

We  cannot  if  we  would,  we  should  not  if  we  could,  isolate  ourselves 
from  the  rest  of  the  commercial  world.  In  all  our  measures  for  the  im 
provement  of  our  financial  condition  we  should  remember  that  our  in 
creasing  trade  with  South  America  and  with  the  Old  World  requires 
that  our  financial  system  shall  be  based  on  principles  whose  soundness 
and  wisdom  are  sanctioned  by  the  universal  experience  and  the  general 
judgment  of  all  mankind.  With  diminished  and  still  diminishing  public 
burdens  of  debt,  expenditures,  and  interest,  with  an  improved  condi 
tion  of  currency  and  foreign  trade,  we  may  well  hope  that  we  are  on 
the  threshold  of  better  times.  But  we  must  not  forget  that  the  surest 
foundation  of  a  restored  financial  prosperity  is  a  sound  constitutional 
currency  and  unstained  national  credit. 

There  is  another  interesting  subject  that  is  worth  giving  attention 
to,  and  I  think  is  encouraging  and  full  of  hope.  The  surplus  population 
of  the  Atlantic  slope  of  States  are  finding  their  way,  as  they  have  never 
done  before,  to  the  beautiful  States  and  Territories  at  the  West.  And 
what  does  that  mean?  It  means  relief  to  the  East.  The  surplus  popu 
lation  that  goes  off  gives  a  better  opportunity  for  employment  of  labor 
and  industry  there  and  here,  and  in  the  new  States  they  are  making 
their  homes,  and  they  are  furnishing  them  a  market  for  the  supplies 
from  the  old  States.  But  it  has  more  than  double  advantages.  There 
are  three  advantages:  It  relieves  the  States,  it  furnishes  a  market  to 
the  old  States,  and  with  their  products  in  the  new  States,  they  help  to 
swell  the  tide  of  exports  to  the  old  countries.  That's  what  this  change 
of  population  means,  and  you  know  much  more  about  it  than  I  do.  You 
have  lived  here  and  seen  it.  ... 

Now,  my  friends,  with  this  picture,  as  I  think,  so  full  of  hope  for  the 
future  for  you  and  me,  as  individuals,  I  do  not  venture  with  confidence 
upon  predictions  of  prosperity  reviving.  I  have  no  spirit  of  prophecy, 
but  let  us  see  how  it  stands.  The  debt  is  a  great  burden  upon  labor  and 
capital.  It  is  greatly  diminished  and  is  still  diminishing.  Taxation  is 
a  great  burden  on  labor  and  capital,  and  it  is  greatly  diminished  and 
still  diminishing.  So,  too,  as  to  the  expenses  of  the  Government;  and 


THE  NORTHWEST  — AN  HONEST  DOLLAR     259 

then  with  that  which  helps  us  —  a  sound  currency  —  and  immigration 
coming,  may  I  not  confidently  say  that  these  are  indications  at  least 
that  we  are  marching  to  the  threshold  of  reviving  general  business 
prosperity?  [Great  applause.] 

And  now,  shall  we  look  around  for  a  new  way  to  pay  old  debts,  or 
shall  we  march  in  the  paths  marked  out  by  the  fathers  —  the  paths  of 
honesty,  of  industry,  of  economy?  Shall  we  do  what  Washington  and 
Franklin  would  advise?  That  is  the  question  before  the  people  to-day, 
my  friends.  I  enter  upon  no  argument  upon  a  disputed  question,  but 
I  say  as  my  opinion  —  we  may  be  mistaken,  all  of  us;  but  I  believe 
that  a  restored  financial  condition  depends  upon  an  honest  currency. 
[Great  applause.]  And  why  do  I  say  this?  The  commerce  of  the  world 
is  the  commerce  now  in  which  we  are  taking  part,  and  that  is  the  same 
thing  the  globe  around.  We  have  with  us  to-day  the  gentleman  who  is 
at  the  head  of  the  signal  service  of  the  United  States.  He  is  known 
popularly  as  "Old  Probabilities."  l  [Great  laughter.]  He  is  not  old, 
and  I  fear  he  is  not  always  probable  [renewed  laughter],  but  certainly 
in  the  science  of  meteorology  he  has  gone  further  than  any  other,  and 
what  does  he  tell  us?  He  says  that  this  atmosphere  of  ours,  this  cir 
cumambient  air  that  surrounds  the  globe,  is  one,  is  a  unit;  and  that  they 
have  discovered  by  observations  all  over  the  globe  that  a  great  commo 
tion,  a  great  disturbance,  on  any  sea  or  any  continent,  sooner  or  later, 
is  felt  on  every  other  sea  and  every  other  continent.  And  so  the  com 
merce  of  the  world  is  one.  When  there  are  very  hard  times  in  one  great 
nation,  sooner  or  later  it  goes  clear  around.  We  should  then  base  our 
financial  system  on  principles,  and  by  instrumentalities  that  are  sanc 
tioned  and  approved  by  the  best  judgment  of  the  whole  commercial 
world.  In  conclusion,  I  repeat,  if  we  want  our  standard  of  national 
prosperity  to  be  based  upon  sure  and  safe  foundations,  let  us  remember, 
let  us  all  remember,  that  its  best  security  is  an  untarnished  national 
credit  and  a  sound  constitutional  currency.  [Great  and  prolonged 
applause.] 

In  his  many  subsequent  speeches  Mr.  Hayes  went  over  much 
the  same  ground,  with  variety  of  statement  and  illustrations  and 
with  constantly  increasing  stress  on  the  folly  of  dealing  with  the 
finances  and  monetary  system  of  the  country  except  in  accord 
ance  with  the  universal  and  imperative  laws  that  determine  and 
govern  value.  At  Madison,  Wisconsin  (September  10),  after 
describing  the  Government's  financial  condition  and  the  business 
prospects  of  the  country,  he  went  on  in  this  vein :  — 

May  I  talk  a  little  of  my  own  convictions  as  to  remedies  that  are  pro 
posed  for  these  hard  times?  I  do  not  like  to  mingle  in  mere  partisan 
discussions  and  I  do  not  propose  to;  but  I  have  some  friends  who  tell 

1  Brigadier-General  Albert  J.  Myer. 


260  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

me,  and  very  good  friends,  too,  —  as  I  heard  at  my  home,  —  that, 
after  all,  our  trouble  is  that  our  currency  is  not  cheap  enough  and  that 
it  will  not  stay  at  home.  It  goes  abroad,  and  therefore  they  tell  me  that 
they  want  a  currency  that  is  so  cheap  that  it  is  better  for  us  than  that 
costly  currency,  gold  and  silver,  and  of  such  quality  that  it  will  not  go 
away.  [Laughter.]  Now,  I  say  that  that  is  a  very  desirable  quality  in 
currency.  You  have  all  found  it  so.  If  you  can  keep  it,  it  is  a  good 
thing.  Let  us  talk  about  that  a  little.  First,  the  cheapness  of  the  cur 
rency.  They  tell  me  what  they  wish  is  this :  The  United  States  ought  to 
say  [the  speaker  holding  up  a  piece  of  paper  the  size  of  a  dollar  bill], 
"  This  is  One  Dollar  anywhere  in  the  United  States,  by  act  of  Congress  " 
—  a  piece  of  paper  about  the  size  of  that,  probably.  "Of  course,  we  do 
not  want  it  counterfeited."  I  am  afraid  it  would  not  be  a  great  while 
after  it  was  issued  that  nobody  would  want  to  counterfeit  it.  [Laughter.] 
But,  in  order  that  it  should  be  as  good  as  possible,  we  would  print  it  on 
good  paper  like  a  national  bank  note,  or  a  greenback  —  good  type, 
good-looking  pictures  on  it,  good  engraving.  And  now  what  does  it 
cost?  They  say  they  want  a  cheap  currency.  What  does  that  "dollar" 
cost?  If  we  have  a  gold  dollar,  or  a  silver  dollar,  we  know  what  it  costs: 
it  costs,  take  the  world  over,  about  a  day's  work  or  about  a  bushel  of 
wheat;  that  is  what  each  dollar  costs.  But  what  does  the  new  currency 
cost,  each  dollar?  Well,  it  costs  rather  less  than  a  cent!  That  piece  of 
paper,  all  pictured  off  nicely,  ready  for  currency,  costs  about  a  cent. 
Now,  that  is  a  good  operation.  To  make  a  dollar  out  of  gold  or  silver 
will  cost  us  a  bushel  of  wheat  or  a  day's  work,  but  this  dollar  costs  only 
the  one  hundredth  part  of  a  day's  work,  or  of  a  bushel  of  wheat.  That 
is  a  good  operation.  "We  will  do  that;  we  will  do  that."  But  stop!  Is 
that  best?  Let  us  see.  Why,  it  don't  cost  any  more  to  make  that  "two 
dollars"  than  "one  dollar."  [Laughter.] 

Then,  were  we  not  a  little  hasty  only  to  make  it  "one"?  We  will 
make  it  "two,"  and  it  still  costs  only  a  cent.  Now,  my  friends,  don't 
you  see  that  we  made  only  ninety -nine  cents  on  it  before;  now,  we  make 
a  dollar  and  ninety-nine  cents?  But  if  we  would  undertake  to  make  two 
dollars  out  of  gold  and  silver,  it  would  take  two  days'  work  or  two 
bushels  of  wheat.  But  it  is  just  as  cheap  to  make  that  "ten  dollars." 
Let  us  make  it  ten  dollars,  then,  and  make  nine  dollars  and  ninety- 
nine  cents  in  the  operation.  Instead  of  paying  for  it  ten  days'  work  or 
ten  bushels  of  wheat,  we  will  give  just  exactly  the  one  hundredth  part 
of  a  day's  work  for  our  ten-dollar  bill.  We  are  doing  well,  but  not  wisely, 
for  we  might  just  as  well  make  it  a  hundred  —  it  will  cost  no  more;  or 
a  thousand  —  it  will  cost  no  more;  and  now  we  will  pay  off  our  whole 
national  debt  with  it,  and  that  is  what  we  want,  they  tell  us.  Why  stop 
at  that?  Why  not  pay  all  the  expenses  of  our  Government  with  it  and 
not  tax  the  people  at  all?  [Laughter.]  Now,  my  friends,  does  n't  it 
begin  to  dawn  upon  the  simplest  mind  that  there  is  some  mistake  about 
this?  That  that  is  inflation,  and  that  inflation  is  nonsense?  The  real 
thing  is  what  we  want  —  no  sham. 


THE   NORTHWEST  — AN  HONEST  DOLLAR     261 

But  the  friends  say:  "It  will  stay  at  home;  it  won't  go  abroad;  good 
here,  good  nowhere  else;  therefore,  it  will  stay  here."  Is  that  good? 
Let  us  see  about  that.  Let  us  have  the  United  States  act  upon  that 
principle;  none  of  our  money  will  be  taken  abroad  —  and  so  we  will 
keep  it.  If  that  is  good  for  the  United  States,  would  it  not  be  well  for 
Wisconsin?  Wisconsin  sends  her  money  to  New  York  and  to  New  Eng 
land  and  the  big  cities  East.  Why  not  keep  it  at  home?  Let  Wisconsin 
make  her  own  money  in  the  same  way,  then;  and  if  that  is  good  for 
Wisconsin,  why  is  it  not  good  for  Madison  —  not  be  sending  off  to 
Milwaukee  and  Chicago,  and  so  on?  Let  Madison  make  her  own  money ! 
If  it  is  good  for  Madison,  why  is  n't  it  good  for  John  Smith,  the  grocer? 
Let  him  make  his  own  money:  'This  is  One  Dollar.  John  Smith." 
He  will  never  spend  it;  he  can  keep  it;  it  will  stay  at  home.  [Great 
laughter.] 

No,  no,  my  fellow  citizens,  the  men  who  made  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  said:  "Congress  shall  have  power  to  coin  money." 
Gold  and  silver  are  the  money  of  the  world  and  have  been  ever  since 
the  days  of  Abraham,  and  you  cannot  change  it  by  legislation.  Either 
that,  or  paper  that  will  command  that,  is  a  sound  constitutional  cur 
rency. 

Let  us  remember  that  with  every  day  more  and  more  our  products 
of  the  soil  and  our  products  of  the  shop  are  going  to  Europe  connecting 
us  with  the  commerce  of  the  world.  We  should  conduct  our  financial 
system,  then,  on  principles  and  instrumentalities  such  as  the  experi 
ence  of  the  world  and  the  general  judgment  of  the  commercial  world 
sanction,  and  we  know  what  these  are.  We  know  how  the  commerce  of 
the  world  is  bound  together.  Anything  seriously  affecting  any  great 
nation  soon  affects  all  the  others.  This  panic  that  has  afflicted  us  has 
afflicted  others  also,  clear  around  the  globe. 

Now,  my  friends,  let  me  say :  The  true  need  is,  when  we  are  marching 
steadily  on  to  the  threshold  of  better  times,  "Be  wise  enough  to  let  well 
enough  alone."  [Applause.]  What  we  want  is  a  restoration  of  confi 
dence.  A  restoration  of  confidence  comes  only  with  stability  in  legisla 
tion  and  in  conduct.  Let  us,  then,  try  no  new  experiments,  but  march 
in  the  path  marked  out  by  the  fathers.  Let  us  say  our  restored  financial 
prosperity  shall  rest  upon  a  national  credit  unimpaired,  without  taint 
or  stain,  and  upon  a  currency  solid  and  constitutional  —  that  defrauds 
no  one.  Let  it  be  a  currency  such  that  honest  capital  —  for  there  is 
honest  capital  and  plenty  of  it;  that  honest  business  enterprise  —  for 
there  is  honest  business  enterprise;  that  honest  labor  —  for  there  is 
honest  labor,  shall  all  have,  also,  honest  money.  [Cheers.] 

At  Chicago  a  few  days  later,  before  the  Board  of  Trade,  Mr. 
Hayes  gave  this  sound  advice :  — 

We  have  passed  through  a  period  of  business  depression  during  the 
last  five  years.  For  more  than  a  year  past  it  has  been  my  impression 


262  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

that  the  causes  of  that  depression  had  gradually  disappeared,  and  that 
indications  of  better  times  could  be  seen;  and  it  is  my  impression  to 
day  that  that  which  has  postponed  a  restoration  of  business  activity 
in  the  country,  during  the  last  year  or  year  and  a  half,  has  largely  been 
not  any  real  cause  for  depression,  but  a  lack  of  confidence  in  the  busi 
ness  community  in  the  stability  of  legislation;  that  if,  a  year  ago,  there 
could  have  been  among  business  men  in  this  country  everywhere  con 
fidence  in  what  was  to  be  the  policy  of  the  Government,  I  think  we 
should  have  had  better  times  to-day.  Then,  my  friends,  the  few  plain 
words  I  wish  to  say  are  these:  — 

Let  us  now,  let  us  for  the  coming,  the  immediate  future,  do  all  that 
we  can  to  secure,  to  inspire,  hope  and  confidence  in  the  business  com 
munity.  And  if  any  instability  of  legislation,  or  the  apprehension  of 
instability  in  our  legislation,  is  keeping  us  back,  let  us  do  all  we  can  to 
see  that  those  who  are  charged  with  legislation  in  this  country  have  the 
wisdom  to  let  the  business  of  the  country  alone.  [Applause.] 

Now,  you  and  I,  gentlemen,  may  not  agree  —  we  probably  do  not 
agree  —  hundreds  of  those  present  do  not  agree  with  me  as  to  the  wis 
dom,  for  example,  of  the  Resumption  Act.  Many  of  you  would  not  have 
voted  on  that  question  as  I  would  have  voted;  but  it  is  now  a  thing  of 
the  past.  We  have  gone  through  whatever  of  evil  belongs  to  that  act. 
We  have  come  to  a  point  where  coin  and  paper  are  abreast  of  each 
other.  Let  us,  then,  for  the  remaining  part  of  this  transaction  let  well 
enough  alone  —  not,  by  entering  anew  upon  schemes  untried,  have 
another  such  period  to  go  through.  The  gentleman  associated  with  me 
in  the  Government  who  has  especial  charge  of  this  matter  —  I  allude 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr.  John  Sherman  —  has  undertaken, 
as  I  think,  to  be  square,  and  frank,  and  open  with  the  business  men  of 
the  country.  You  may  not  agree  with  him,  but  this  merit,  it  seems  to 
me,  may  be  claimed  for  him:  He  has  had  in  this  matter  no  secrets. 
What  he  was  doing  he  has  endeavored  to  inform  the  country  about. 
He  has  been  open  with  it;  and  so  in  the  future,  if  I  understand  my  own 
wish  in  the  matter,  it  is  that  you  may  know  exactly  what  to  count  upon; 
and  this,  in  all  business  transactions,  you  understand  better  than  I  do, 
is  more  than  half  the  battle.  [Applause.] 

I  do  not  propose,  then,  to  say  a  word  in  favor  of  any  other  policy 
than  this :  Let  us  not  undertake,  in  this  important  matter,  to  regulate 
the  currency  —  to  tinker  it  too  much.  Too  much  legislation  on  that 
subject,  as,  indeed,  upon  all  other  subjects,  is  one  of  the  evils  of  our 
time  in  America.  [Applause.] 

I  leave  off  as  I  began.  Let  us  see,  in  the  gradual  approach  to  the 
same  standard  of  all  the  paper  circulating  as  money  in  the  United 
States,  signs  of  hope.  The  march  of  events,  if  undisturbed,  is  plainly 
leading  us  on  to  better  times.  [Cheers.] 

Mr.  Hayes  and  his  family  returned  to  Fremont  September  14 
and  remained  there  for  the  next  ten  days,  though  with  visits  to 


THE   NORTHWEST— AN  HONEST  DOLLAR     263 

Willoughby,  for  the  reunion  of  the  Twenty-third  Regiment,  to 
Dayton  for  memorial  services  at  the  Soldiers'  Home,  and  to 
Toledo,  where,  before  an  enormous  crowd  at  the  Tri-State  Fair, 
the  President  once  more  expounded  the  sound-money  views 
which  had  been  the  burden  of  his  recent  speeches.1  At  no  point 
was  plain  speaking  more  timely,  as  Toledo  was  deeply  infected 
with  the  inflation  madness.  On  the  return  journey  to  Washing 
ton  a  stop  was  made  at  Pittsburg,  where  the  President  was  made 
welcome  with  endless  courtesies,  public  and  private.  Here  the 
President  declared  that  better  times  were  approaching  and 
pleaded  for  the  maintenance  of  unsullied  national  credit. 

We  have  reached  the  point  [he  repeated]  in  the  march  of  events  when 
we  may  go  forward  and  enter  upon  an  era  of  good  times;  or  we  may  by 
unwise  conduct  and  unwise  legislation  postpone  it.  There  are  those  who 
do  not  believe,  as  I  did,  that  the  Resumption  Act  was  a  good  thing. 
But  for  good  or  evil  we  have  gone  on  through  it.  Whatever  suffering 
it  entailed  we  have  suffered  it;  now  shall  we  go  over  that  desolate 
journey  again,  or  shall  we  save  what  we  have  got?  That  is  the  question. 
In  this  condition  of  things  as  to  all  business  interests,  all  manufacturing 
and  commercial,  I  suggest  whether  it  is  not  the  highest  wisdom  to  let 
well  enough  alone;  not  now  to  disturb  legislation  —  not  now  to  tinker. 
Some  want  a  change  as  to  tariff  and  some  as  to  currency.  This  is  no 
time  for  radical  or  extensive  changes  on  either  of  these  subjects. 

I  wish  to  say,  finally,  that  honest  capital  has  needs  and  has  rights, 
and  there  is  honest  capital.  Honest  business  enterprise  has  rights  and 
needs,  and  there  is  honest  business  enterprise.  And  honest  labor  has 
needs  and  rights,  and  there  is  an  abundance  of  honest  labor.  Often 
to-day,  as  I  went  through  those  mills,  and  saw  the  men  labor;  as  we 

1  The  Cincinnati  Enquirer  introduced  its  report  of  the  President's  speech  with 
these  interesting  headlines:  — 

HAYES'  HOBBY 


The  Ugly  Animal  Again  Trotted  Out, 


Glorious  Things  Done  for  the  Country 
by  the  Ruinous  Resump 
tion  Policy. 


A  Laborious  Effort  to  Convince  the  People 

that  Universal  Bankruptcy  is  a 

Blessing  in  Disguise. 


264  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

travelled  up  the  inclines;  as  we  sailed  on  a  tug  up  your  river,  and  re 
flected  what  results  might  attend  defective  or  dishonest  work  in  any  of 
the  various  parts  of  the  machinery,  I  realized  what  you  must  all  realize 
—  that  our  very  lives  depend  on  the  honesty  of  labor !  I  am  sure  I  will 
say  not  one  word  that  is  not  in  strict  accordance  with  its  interest;  and 
I  give  it  as  my  opinion,  finally,  that  nothing  is  more  essentially  in  the 
interest  of  honest  capital  and  honest  business  enterprise  anof  honest 
labor  —  than  HONEST  MONEY!  l 

October  9  the  President  paid  a  visit  to  Montpelier,  the  old 
home  of  Madison,  in  Orange  County,  Virginia.  At  Orange  Court 
House,  where  his  party  2  left  the  train,  he  was  welcomed  to 
Virginia  by  ex-Lieutenant-Governor  Thomas.  Colonel  John 
Willis,  a  grand-nephew  of  Madison,  welcomed  the  visitors  to 
Montpelier  and  in  response  to  his  words  of  greeting,  Mr.  Hayes 
made  the  following  speech:  — 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  —  It  is  a  great  gratification,  indeed,  to  be  so 
welcomed  to  the  home  of  Madison.  You  have  heard  the  beautiful  ad 
dress  just  delivered  by  the  nearest  survivor  of  James  Madison,  a  man 
whose  name  will  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance  by  the  lovers  of  lib 
erty  and  stable  government  as  long  as  liberty  and  constitutional  gov 
ernment  exist  on  earth.  Madison  having  so  linked  his  name  and  memory 
with  the  best  law  —  the  Constitution  —  the  world  has  ever  known,  his 

1  "Upon  the  whole,  the  Western  trip  was  the  happiest  and  most  useful  trip  yet 
made.  It  certainly  strengthened  my  Administration  and  our  greetings  showed 
that  we  are  already  strong."   (Diary,  October  1,  1878.) 

2  The  President  was  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Hayes,  Secretary  Schurz,  Attorney- 
General  Devens,  Mr.  Rogers,  Colonel  Mosby,  Miss  Mosby,  Edwin  C.  Marshall 
(only  son  of  the  famous  Chief  Justice),  members  of  the  committee  of  invitation 
and  others. 

Mr.  Hayes  wrote  of  this  visit  in  his  diary  (October  10):  "A  crowd  of  people 
met  us  at  Orange,  and  there  was  speaking.  Our  train  of  carriages  on  a  fair  Vir 
ginia  road  reached  the  mansion  in  an  hour.  It  was  a  satisfaction  to  find  so  ad 
mirable  a  place.  The  house  large,  with  piazza  and  tall  large  pillars,  like  —  some 
what  —  Arlington,  on  an  elevation,  with  perhaps  fifty  acres  of  lawn  in  front,  and 
a  noble  view  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  The  great  trees  were  very  interesting  to  me.  A 
white  oak  near  the  grave,  twenty-one  feet  in  circumference.  A  chestnut  on  right 
flank  of  lawn,  thirty-seven  feet  in  circumference.  A  black  walnut,  right  of  house, 
fifteen  feet;  a  poplar  (tulip)  eighteen  feet.  The  oak  and  chestnut  were  low  and 
apple-tree  shaped:  the  poplars  and  walnuts,  of  which  there  were  many,  tall  and 
beautiful.  The  place  is  not  well  kept  up,  and  is  for  sale  cheap;  forty  thousand 
dollars  certainly  would  buy  it  with  eleven  hundred  acres;  and  probably  thirty 
thousand  dollars.  A  great  lack  of  enterprise,  thrift,  and  comfort  in  that  region,  but 
the  people  were  many  of  them  well  informed  and  generally,  perhaps  universally, 
friendly  and  well  disposed  to  newcomers.  ...  On  the  piazza  we  were  welcomed 
with  hearty  handshaking  by  the  present  owner,  Mr.  Carson,  and  by  a  carefully 
prepared  speech  by  Colonel  Willis.  An  interesting  and  enjoyable  day." 


THE   NORTHWEST— AN  HONEST  DOLLAR      265 

fame  is  forever  safe.  He  began  the  work  of  the  formation  of  the  Con 
stitution,  and  in  the  convention  he  was  a  leading  spirit,  his  wisdom  and 
advice  contributing  to  that  result.  After  the  Constitution  was  framed 
by  the  convention,  it  was  for  him  to  persuade  the  people  to  adopt  it. 
In  the  convention  of  Virginia  there  was  a  great  struggle  as  to  whether 
that  Commonwealth  should  ratify  the  Constitution,  and  it  was  largely 
due  to  the  respect  and  appreciation  the  people  had  for  the  character  of 
Madison,  and  the  influence  of  his  counsels,  that  this  question  was  carried 
in  the  Virginia  convention.  He  assisted  in  carrying  the  Constitution 
into  effect  as  a  member  of  Congress,  as  a  member  of  the  Cabinet,  and 
as  President  of  the  United  States. 

After  the  close  of  his  public  life,  no  longer  disturbed  by  party  con 
flicts,  he  survived  for  many  years,  an  interested  spectator  of  passing 
events.  Distinguished  men  of  his  time  were  glad  of  the  opportunity 
to  sit  at  his  feet  and  hear  his  words  of  wisdom  and  patriotism.  In  my 
remarks  at  Orange  Court  House  to-day  I  called  attention  to  an  estimate 
of  this  country  by  Mr.  Gladstone,  which  I  do  not  think  too  high.  It  is 
contained  'in  an  article  written  by  that  distinguished  statesman,  en 
titled  "Kin  Beyond  the  Sea,"  in  which  he  says:  "The  American  Con 
stitution,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  is  the  most  wonderful  work  ever  struck 
off  at  a  given  time  by  the  brain  and  purpose  of  man.  It  has  had  a  cen 
tury  of  trial,  under  the  pressure  of  exigencies  caused  by  an  expansion 
unexampled  in  point  of  rapidity  and  range,  and  its  exemption  from 
formal  change,  though  not  entire,  has  certainly  proved  the  sagacity  of 
the  constructors  and  the  stubborn  strength  of  the  fabric." 

We  may  well  honor  the  name  and  memory  of  the  man  who  did  so 
much  for  the  present  and  the  future  of  the  country.  In  view  of  this 
beautiful  scene,  the  magnificent  range  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  this  verdant 
lawn  and  hospitable  mansion,  here  at  the  home  of  Madison  we  may 
surely  say  that  if  the  advice  and  patriotic  purposes  of  this  great  man 
had  been  observed,  we  should  have  been  saved  from  civil  strife.  And 
as  in  the  past,  so  in  the  future,  there  are  no  troubles  that  can  arise  in 
the  administration  of  affairs  in  our  country  that  cannot  be  settled  by  a 
recurrence  to  the  principles  of  Madison  —  principles  which  inculcate 
the  submission  of  all  sections,  States,  communities,  and  citizens  to  the 
Constitution  and  laws  of  the  land.  The  bottom  and  foundation  princi 
ples  on  which  Madison  built  will  always  afford  us  the  means  of  adjust 
ing  all  our  difficulties. 

I,  however,  have  no  fears.  Questions  fraught  with  danger  may  recur, 
and  we  may  sometimes  be  disposed  to  look  on  the  gloomy  side;  but  let 
us  all  hope  that  with  the  model  Constitution  to  guide  us,  the  worst  that 
can  ever  befall  us  is  over.  Nothing  can  be  so  dangerous  as  the  events 
that  have  already  transpired,  and  the  scenes  through  which  we  have 
already  passed. 

A  few  days  later  the  President  with  a  party  of  friends  visited 
the  fair  at  Winchester,  Virginia,  to  which  he  was  welcomed  by 


266  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

Governor  Holliday.  Naturally,  in  his  speech  on  this  occasion, 
Mr.  Hayes  recalled  his  experiences  in  that  region  in  the  strenu 
ous  days  of  1864.  He  rejoiced  to  meet  the  people  there  under 
the  present  auspicious  circumstances,  knowing  that  whatever 
bitterness  might  elsewhere  be  felt,  here  the  general  wish  was  that 
all  sectional  controversies  might  be  permanently  settled,  and 
peace  and  union  restored  and  established.  In  his  speeches  in  the 
Northwest  he  had  discussed  the  finances  of  the  Government,  in 
the  hope  of  giving  people  encouragement  and  confidence.  Now 
with  a  similar  end  in  view  he  desired  to  give  briefly  the  views 
entertained  by  the  great  Virginia  fathers  of  the  country  on  the 
subject  of  what  is  a  sound,  safe,  and  stable  currency.  Thereupon 
he  quoted  from  the  writings  of  Washington,  Jefferson,  Madison, 
George  Mason,  and«  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  passages  which 
strongly  condemned  the  emission  of  paper  money;  and  ended 
his  speech  with  this  vigorous  paragraph :  — 

It  is  not  necessary  for  my  purpose  to  make  further  quotations  from 
the  fathers.  They  embodied  their  opinions  in  the  American  Constitu 
tion.  The  money  of  the  Constitution  is  coin.  In  making  money  which 
has  intrinsic  value  the  constitutional  money  of  our  country,  the  fathers 
adopted  the  money  of  the  world.  By  a  law  resting  on  the  concurring 
judgment  and  common  consent  of  mankind,  in  all  ages  and  countries, 
the  precious  metals  have  been  the  measure  of  value  —  the  money  of 
the  world.  It  is  a  law  that  is  fundamental  and  irrepealable.  It  can  no 
more  be  repealed  by  act  of  Congress  than  the  law  of  gravitation.  If  we 
would  have  an  early  return  of  business  prosperity,  let  us  not  try  to  be 
wiser  than  the  fathers,  wiser  than  the  Constitution,  and  wiser  than 
human  nature.  In  the  present  condition  of  our  country,  our  progress 
towards  prosperity  as  a  nation  and  as  individuals  depends  upon  having 
a  good  public  credit  and  a  sound  constitutional  currency. 

The  President  was  much  gratified  with  the  general  result  of 
the  elections,  though  he  was  distressed  and  indignant  at  the 
campaign  and  election  methods  again  employed,  despite  the 
promises  and  assurances  given  him  by  Southern  leaders,  in  some 
parts  of  the  South.  The  old  habit  of  terrorism  and  violence 
could  not  easily  be  laid  aside.1  While  the  Democrats  again 

1  How  many  reputable  people  in  the  South  regarded  the  methods  used  to  con 
trol  or  suppress  the  colored  vote  is  fairly  reflected  in  the  following  paragraph  from 
the  Charleston  News  and  Courier,  quoted  in  the  New  York  Times  of  February 
10,  1881 :  "We  do  not  say  that  there  has  been  fraud  at  elections  in  the  South,  but 
such  fraud  is  no  more  regarded  as  a  crime  than  shooting  a  burglar  is.  This  can 


THE  NORTHWEST— AN  HONEST  DOLLAR      267 

elected  a  majority  of  the  Congress,  it  seemed  clear  to  the  Presi 
dent,  from  the  success  of  the  Republicans  in  state  elections  and 
in  the  general  popular  majorities,  that  the  predominant  senti 
ment  of  the  country  was  with  the  Republican  party;  that  it 
condemned  the  effort  of  the  Potter  Committee  to  reopen  the 
question  settled  by  the  Electoral  Commission;  and  that  it  sus 
tained  the  policies  of  the  Administration  —  especially  that  re 
lating  to  the  public  finances.  Mr.  Hayes  had  the  right  to  feel 
that  his  speeches,  while  in  no  sense  partisan,  had  contributed 
effectively  to  the  Republican  cause  by  helping  to  dissipate  men's 
fears  of  the  effect  of  resumption  and  by  quickening  their  hopes 
of  better  times.  In  his  diary  (November  6)  he  writes:  — 

The  elections  of  yesterday  show  very  gratifying  results.  The  States 
of  New  England  are  solid  for  sound  principles.  The  crushing  defeat  of 
Butler  was  one  of  the  best  events  that  has  happened  since  the  war. 
Unscrupulous,  able,  rich,  untiring,  he  was  the  most  dangerous  and 
wicked  demagogue  we  have  ever  had.  When  he  found  he  could  not  rule 
this  Administration  as  he  had  hoped,  he  declared  war  on  it  and  me. 
At  the  close  of  his  last  interview  on  the  Methuen  Post-Office  he  said 
with  significant  emphasis:  "You  will  regret  this,"  —  after  a  little  hesi 
tation,  recollecting  himself,  he  said,  —  "because  it  is  wrong." 

Everywhere  in  the  North  we  are  stronger  than  in  any  off  year  since 
the  war,  except  possibly  in  1866  when  Johnson  was  overwhelmed.  The 
South  is  substantially  solid  against  us.  Their  vote  is  light  —  our  side 
was  unorganized  —  a  host  of  people  of  both  colors  took  no  part.  The 
whites  must  divide  before  we  can  hope  for  good  results  there.  The 
blacks,  poor,  ignorant,  and  timid,  can't  stand  alone  against  the  whites. 

In  my  message  I  must  treat  this  result  as  a  decision  in  favor  of 
resumption  undisturbed  —  in  favor  of  repose  —  in  opposition  to  all 
revolutionary  schemes  which  would  destroy  the  stability  of  our  govern 
ment.  It  is  in  one  word  a  verdict  against  Butlerism.  .  .  . 

The  only  regret  is  that  the  better  elements  of  the  South  were  not  so 
organized  as  to  have  a  share  in  the  victory.  No  doubt  many  good  and 
conservative  men  have  been  elected.  Probably  a  large  majority  are  in 
their  judgments  and  consciences  opposed  to  the  wild  and  dangerous 
doctrines  which  the  better  sentiment  of  Massachusetts  and  of  the 
rest  of  the  conservative  States  of  the  North  have  so  decidedly  con 
demned. 

A  few  days  later  (November  12)  he  writes:  — 

be  made  clear.  The  white  people  in  the  South  are  determined  to  have,  by  hook  or 
crook,  respectable,  economical,  and  just  State  Governments.  There  is  no  senti 
ment  about  it." 


268  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

i 

It  now  looks  as  if  the  November  elections  had  settled  all  question  as 
to  the  Presidential  title  —  that  Potterism  is  dead.  But  Butlerism  — 
cheap  money  schemes  still  live.  The  popularity  of  silver,  the  unpopu 
larity  of  banks,  or  rather  of  money-lenders  as  embodied  in  the  national 
banks,  are  strong  enough  to  become  corner-stones  of  parties  and 
platforms.  They  will  probably  divide  the  Democratic  party,  and  so 
strengthen  the  Republican;  but  if  all  the  discontent  could  be  embodied 
in  one  party,  with  cheap  money  and  plenty  of  it  as  its  watchwords,  the 
power  of  such  a  party  would  be  ample  for  mischief,  and  it  might,  for  a 
time,  rule  the  country. 

In  South  Carolina  and  Louisiana,  and  perhaps  in  some  of  the  other 
cotton  States,  grave  charges  are  made  that  the  constitutional  provi 
sions  which  guarantee  equal  citizenship  have  been  practically  nulli 
fied;  that  by  fraud  or  force  or  intimidation  colored  citizens  have  been 
disfranchised. 

By  state  legislation,  by  frauds,  by  intimidation,  and  by  violence  of 
the  most  atrocious  character,  colored  citizens  have  been  deprived  of  the 
right  of  suffrage  —  a  right  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution,  and  to  the 
protection  of  which  the  people  of  those  States  have  been  solemnly 
pledged. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

AMONG  THE  PEOPLE;  THE  CENTRAL  WEST  —  NATIONALISM 

IT  was  what  happened  in  the  Southern  elections  of  1878  that 
made  the  President  and  the  Republicans  so  determined  in 
the  special  session  of  Congress  in  the  spring  of  the  following 
year,  already  described,  to  resist  the  Democratic  efforts  to  re 
peal  or  to  emasculate  the  federal  election  laws.  When  the  Presi 
dent  visited  the  West  in  September,  1879,  therefore,  the  topics 
which  had  enthralled  his  attention  during  the  long  contest  with 
Congress  were  still  uppermost  in  his  mind,  and  were  made  the 
principal  subject  of  his  discourse  at  the  annual  reunion  of  his  old 
regiment  which  was  held  at  Youngstown,  Ohio,  September  17. 
This  speech  is  so  clear  and  forceful  an  exposition  of  Mr.  Hayes's 
conception  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  dual  system  of 
government,  of  the  causes  and  results  of  the  Civil  War,  of  the 
duty  of  maintaining  unimpaired  "the  settlements  of  the  war  in 
favor  of  equal  rights  and  the  supremacy  of  the  laws  of  the  na 
tion,"  that  it  is  here  given  in  full:  — 

Comrades  and  Fellow  Citizens,  —  After  almost  a  year  spent  in  Wash 
ington,  engrossed  in  public  affairs,  it  is  a  great  pleasure  to  visit  again 
my  friends  in  Ohio,  and  especially  to  meet  so  many  of  my  old  com 
rades  at  this  yearly  reunion  of  the  Twenty-third  Regiment.  Since  we 
last  met  at  Willoughby,  a  year  ago,  there  has  been  a  vast  improvement 
in  the  business  condition  of  our  country.  Whatever  differences  of 
opinion  may  be  still  found  among  the  people  of  this  part  of  Ohio  as  to 
the  importance  of  the  resumption  of  specie  payments,  and  as  to  the 
methods  by  which  it  has  been  accomplished,  there  is  one  kind  of  re 
sumption  which  is  very  noticeable  in  Youngstown,  and  which  is  mak 
ing  rapid  progress  in  the  whole  country,  about  which  I  imagine  we  are 
all  heartily  agreed.  When  I  last  visited  this  beautiful  valley  of  the 
Mahoning,  four  years  ago,  the  financial  crisis,  and  the  gloomy  outlook 
for  business  and  labor  and  capital,  occupied  the  thoughts  and  depressed 
the  spirits  of  the  people  wherever  I  met  them,  whether  in  public  as 
semblies,  at  their  places  of  business,  or  at  their  hospitable  homes.  Now, 
however,  how  great  and  how  gratifying  is  the  change!  All  around 
us  here,  and  throughout  the  country  generally,  we  see  cheering  and 


270  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

hopeful  indications  of  better  times.  Not  only  have  specie  payments  been 
resumed,  but  business  activity  and  profitable  employment  for  capital 
and  labor  have  come  also.  The  chief  industry  and  interest  of  this  val 
ley  —  the  great  iron  interest  —  already  begins  to  share  largely  in  the 
benefit  of  our  improved  condition,  and  I  therefore  heartily  congratu 
late  all  classes  of  citizens  in  this  large  assemblage  on  the  present  favor 
able  business  situation,  and  on  the  bright  and  encouraging  prospect 
which  the  future  holds  out. 

There  is  a  subject  interesting  to  every  citizen,  and  especially  to  those 
who  served  in  the  Union  army,  in  regard  to  which  I  wish  to  say  a  few 
words :  — 

Since  our  last  reunion,  in  several  of  the  States  and  in  Congress, 
events  have  occurred  which  have  revived  the  discussion  of  the  question 
as  to  the  objects  for  which  we  fought  in  the  great  conflict  from  1861  to 
1865,  and  as  to  what  was  accomplished  by  the  final  triumph  of  the 
Union  cause.  The  question  is:  What  was  settled  by  the  war?  What 
may  those  who  fought  for  the  Union  justly  claim;  and  what  ought  those 
who  fought  for  secession,  faithfully  to  accept  as  the  legitimate  results 
of  the  war? 

An  eminent  citizen  of  our  State,  Mr.  Groesbeck,  said  some  years  ago, 
that  "war  legislates."  He  regarded  the  new  constitutional  amend 
ments  as  part  of  the  legislation  of  the  war  for  the  Union,  and  said,  with 
significant  emphasis,  "and  they  will  stand."  The  equal-rights  amend 
ments  are  the  legislation  of  the  war  for  the  Union,  and  they  ought  to 
stand.  Great  wars  always  legislate.  A  little  more  than  a  hundred  years 
ago,  this  land,  where  we  now  are,  was  claimed  and  held  by  France. 
General  Wolfe,  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  settled  that  claim,  and  the 
result  was  the  transfer  of  the  title  and  jurisdiction  of  this  entire  sec 
tion  of  the  country  to  England.  For  a  few  years  its  chief  ruler  was  the 
English  King.  The  Revolution  followed,  and  the  question  of  its  owner 
ship  was  again  the  subject  of  war  legislation,  and  it  became  a  part 
of  the  United  States,  no  longer  under  a  monarchy,  but  under  a  free 
republican  Government. 

I  need  not  enter  into  any  discussion  of  the  causes  of  our  Civil  War. 
We  all  know  that  the  men  who  planned  the  destruction  of  the  Union 
and  the  establishment  of  the  Confederate  States,  based  their  attempt 
on  a  construction  of  the  Constitution  called  the  state-rights  doctrine, 
and  on  the  interest  of  the  people  of  those  States  in  the  extension  and 
perpetuation  of  slavery.  The  doctrine  of  States'  rights  was,  that  each 
State  was  sovereign  and  supreme,  and  might  nullify  the  laws  of  the 
Union  or  secede  from  the  Union  at  pleasure.  They  held  that  slavery 
was  the  natural  and  normal  condition  of  the  colored  man,  and  that, 
therefore,  slavery  in  this  country  could  and  should  be  the  corner-stone 
of  a  free  government. 

No  man  has  ever  stated  the  issues  of  the  Civil  War  more  fully,  more 
clearly,  or  more  accurately  than  Mr.  Lincoln.  In  any  inquiry  as  to 
what  may  fairly  be  included  among  the  things  settled  by  our  victory, 


THE  CENTRAL  WEST  —  NATIONALISM       271 

all  just  and  patriotic  minds  instinctively  turn  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  To  him, 
more  than  to  any  other  man,  the  cause  of  Union  and  liberty  is  indebted 
for  its  final  triumph.  Besides,  with  all  his  wonderful  sagacity,  and  wis 
dom,  and  logical  faculty,  dwelling  intently,  and  anxiously,  and  prayer 
fully,  during  four  years  of  awful  trial  and  responsibility,  on  the  questions 
which  were  continually  arising  to  perplex  and  almost  confound  him, 
he  at  last  became  the  very  embodiment  of  the  principles  by  which  the 
country  and  its  liberties  were  saved.  All  good  citizens  may  now  well 
listen  to  and  heed  his  words.  None  have  more  reason  to  do  it  with  re 
spect  and  confidence,  and  a  genuine  regard,  than  those  whom  he  ad 
dressed  in  his  first  inaugural  speech  as  "my  dissatisfied  fellow  country 
men."  The  leader  of  the  Union  cause  was  so  just  and  moderate,  and 
patient  and  humane,  that  many  supporters  of  the  Union  thought  that 
he  did  not  go  far  enough  or  fast  enough,  and  assailed  his  opinions  and 
his  conduct;  but  now  all  men  begin  to  see  that  the  plain  people,  who  at 
last  came  to  love  him,  and  to  lean  upon  his  wisdom  and  firmness  with 
absolute  trust,  were  altogether  right,  and  that  in  deed  and  purpose 
he  was  earnestly  devoted  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole  country,  and  of  all 
its  inhabitants. 

Believing  that  Mr.  Lincoln's  opinions  are  of  higher  authority  on  the 
questions  of  the  war  than  those  of  any  other  public  man  on  either  side 
of  the  controversy,  I  desire  to  present  them  quite  fully  and  in  his  own 
language. 

In  the  third  year  of  the  war,  and  while  its  result  was  still  undecided, 
Mr.  Lincoln  made  his  memorable  address  at  the  consecration  of  the 
Gettysburg  National  Cemetery,  on  the  19th  of  November,  1863.  He 
was  standing  on  the  field  of  the  greatest  battle  of  the  war.  He  was,  no 
doubt,  deeply  impressed  with  the  heavy  responsibilities  which  he  had 
borne  so  long.  He  spoke  not  as  a  partisan,  embittered  and  narrow  and 
sectional,  but  in  the  broad  and  generous  spirit  of  a  patriot,  solicitous 
to  say  that  which  would  be  worthy  to  be  pondered  by  all  of  his  coun 
trymen  throughout  all  time.  In  his  short  speech  of  only  two  or  three 
paragraphs  he  twice  spoke  of  the  objects  of  the  war,  once  in  its  opening 
and  again  in  its  closing  sentence.  The  words  have  been  often  quoted, 
but  they  cannot  be  too  familiar.  They  bear  clearly  and  forcibly  on  the 
question  we  are  considering. 

"Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "our  fathers 
brought  forth  on  this  continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty  and 
dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are  created  equal.  Now  we 
are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war,  testing  whether  that  nation,  or  any 
nation  so  conceived  and  so  dedicated,  can  long  endure." 

And  again,  in  closing,  he  said:  "It  is  rather  for  us  ...  that  we  here 
highly  resolve  that  these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain,  that  this  na 
tion,  under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that  govern 
ment  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish 
from  the  earth." 

No  statement  of  the  true  objects  of  the  war  more  complete  than  this 


272  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

has  ever  been  made.  It  includes  them  all  —  nationality,  liberty,  equal 
rights,  and  self-government.  These  are  the  principles  for  which  the 
Union  soldier  fought,  and  which  it  was  his  aim  to  maintain  and  to 
perpetuate. 

If  any  one  supposes  that  that  construction  of  our  National  Constitu 
tion,  which  is  known  as  the  state-rights  doctrine,  is  consistent  with 
sound  principles,  let  him  consider  a  few  paragraphs  from  Mr.  Lincoln's 
first  message  to  Congress,  at  the  extra  session  of  1861. 

Speaking  of  what  was  called  the  right  of  peaceful  secession  —  that 
is,  secession  in  accordance  with  the  National  Constitution  —  he  said: 
"This  sophism  derives  much,  perhaps  the  whole,  of  its  currency  from 
the  assumption  that  there  is  some  omnipotent  and  sacred  supremacy 
pertaining  to  a  State  —  to  each  State  of  our  Federal  Union.  Our  States 
have  neither  more  nor  less  power  than  that  reserved  to  them  in  the 
Union  by  the  Constitution,  no  one  of  them  ever  having  been  a  State 
out  of  the  Union.  The  original  ones  passed  into  the  Union  even  before 
they  cast  off  their  British  colonial  dependence,  and  the  new  ones  each 
came  into  the  Union  directly  from  a  condition  of  dependence,  except 
ing  Texas;  and  even  Texas,  in  its  temporary  independence,  was  never 
designated  a  State.  The  new  ones  only  took  the  designation  of  States 
on  coming  into  the  Union,  while  that  name  was  first  adopted  for  the 
old  ones  in  and  by  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Therein  the 
'United  Colonies'  were  declared  to  be  'free  and  independent  States;' 
but,  even  then,  the  object  plainly  was  not  to  declare  their  independence 
of  one  another,  or  of  the  Union,  but  directly  the  contrary;  as  their 
mutual  pledge,  and  their  mutual  action,  before,  at  the  time,  and  after 
wards,  abundantly  show.  The  express  plighting  of  faith  by  each  and  all 
of  the  original  thirteen,  in  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  two  years  later, 
that  the  Union  shall  be  perpetual,  is  most  conclusive.  Having  never 
been  States,  either  in  substance  or  in  name,  outside  of  the  Union,  whence 
this  magical  omnipotence  of  'state  rights,'  asserting  a  claim  of  power 
to  lawfully  destroy  the  Union  itself?  Much  is  said  about  the  'sover 
eignty'  of  the  States;  but  the  word,  even,  is  not  in  the  National  Con 
stitution,  nor,  as  is  believed,  in  any  of  the  state  constitutions.  What 
is  a  'sovereignty,'  in  the  political  sense  of  the  term?  Would  it  be  far 
wrong  to  define  it, '  A  political  community,  without  a  political  superior'  ? 
Tested  by  this,  no  one  of  our  States,  except  Texas,  ever  was  a  sov 
ereignty;  and  even  Texas  gave  up  the  character  on  coming  into  the 
Union;  by  which  act  she  acknowledged  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  and  the  laws  and  treaties  of  the  United  States  made  in  pursu 
ance  of  the  Constitution  to  be  for  her  the  supreme  law  of  the  land.  The 
States  have  their  status  in  the  Union,  and  they  have  no  other  legal 
status.  If  they  break  from  this,  they  can  only  do  so  against  law,  and 
by  revolution.  The  Union,  and  not  themselves  separately,  procured 
their  independence  and  their  liberty.  By  conquest  or  purchase  the 
Union  gave  each  of  them  whatever  of  independence  or  liberty  it  has. 
The  Union  is  older  than  any  of  the  States,  and,  in  fact,  it  created  them 


THE  CENTRAL  WEST  -  NATIONALISM        273 

as  States.  Originally,  some  dependent  colonies  made  the  Union,  and, 
in  turn,  the  Union  threw  off  their  old  dependence  for  them  and  made 
them  States,  such  as  they  are.  Not  one  of  them  ever  had  a  state  con 
stitution  independent  of  the  Union.  Of  course,  it  is  not  forgotten  that 
all  the  new  States  framed  their  constitutions  before  they  entered  the 
Union;  nevertheless,  dependent  upon,  and  preparatory  to,  coming  into 
the  Union." 

Unquestionably  the  States  have  the  powers  and  rights  reserved  to 
them  in  and  by  the  National  Constitution;  and  upon  this  point,  in 
another  part  of  this  great  message,  Mr.  Lincoln  says:  "This  relative 
matter  of  national  power  and  state  rights,  as  a  principle,  is  no  other 
than  the  principle  of  generality  and  locality.  Whatever  concerns  the 
whole  should  be  confided  to  the  whole  —  to  the  general  Government; 
while  whatever  concerns  only  the  State  should  be  left  exclusively  to  the 
State.  This  is  all  there  is  of  original  principle  about  it." 

Mr.  Lincoln  held  that  the  United  States  is  a  nation,  and  that  its 
Government  possesses  ample  power  under  the  Constitution  to  maintain 
its  authority  and  enforce  its  laws  in  every  part  of  its  territory.  The 
denial  of  this  principle  by  those  who  asserted  the  doctrine  of  state 
rights,  and  who  rightly  claimed  that  it  was  inconsistent  with  state  sov 
ereignty,  made  up  an  issue  over  which  arose  one  of  the  leading  contro 
versies  which  led  to  the  Civil  War.  The  result  of  the  war  decided  that 
controversy  in  favor  of  nationality  and  in  favor  of  the  supremacy  of  the 
National  Government. 

On  the  question  of  human  rights,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  equally  explicit, 
and  often  declared  that  it  was  involved  in  the  conflict,  and  to  be  decided 
by  the  result.  In  his  matchless  message,  already  quoted,  he  says:  "Our 
adversaries  have  adopted  some  declarations  of  independence,  in  which, 
unlike  the  good  old  one,  penned  by  Jefferson,  they  omit  the  words,  'all 
men  are  created  equal.'  Why?  They  have  adopted  a  temporary  na 
tional  constitution,  in  the  preamble  of  which,  unlike  our  good  old  one, 
signed  by  Washington,  they  omit,  'We,  the  people,'  and  substitute, 
'We,  the  deputies  of  the  sovereign  and  independent  States.'  Why? 
Why  this  deliberate  pressing  out  of  view  the  rights  of  men,  and  the 
authority  of  the  people?  This  is  essentially  a  people's  contest.  On  the 
side  of  the  Union  it  is  a  struggle  for  maintaining  in  the  world  that  form 
and  substance  of  government  whose  leading  object  is  to  elevate  the 
condition  of  men;  to  lift  artificial  weights  from  all  shoulders;  to  clear 
the  paths  of  laudable  pursuit  for  all;  to  afford  all  an  unfettered  start, 
and  a  fair  chance  in  the  race  of  life.  Yielding  to  partial  and  temporary 
departures,  from  necessity,  this  is  the  leading  object  of  the  Government 
for  whose  existence  we  contend.  I  am  most  happy  to  believe  that  the 
plain  people  understand  and  appreciate  this." 

On  the  subject  of  suffrage,  Mr.  Lincoln's  guiding  principle  was  that 
"no  man  is  good  enough  to  govern  another  man  without  that  other 
man's  consent." 

Thus  we  have  from  the  lips  and  pen  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  —  the  great 


274  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

leader  and  representative  of  the  Union  cause,  —  in  the  most  solemn  and 
authentic  form,  a  complete  statement  of  the  issues  of  the  war.  He  held 
that  the  Union  is  perpetual;  that  its  Government  is  national  and  su 
preme;  and  that  all  of  its  inhabitants  should  be  free,  and  be  accorded 
equal  civil  and  political  rights. 

These  are  the  great  fundamental  principles,  affirmed  on  the  one  side, 
and  denied  on  the  other,  upon  which  the  appeal  was  made  to  the  God 
of  battles.  I  do  not  undertake  to  review  the  debate  as  to  the  nature 
and  powers  of  the  Government  of  the  Union,  and  as  to  the  doctrine  of 
States'  rights,  which  began  with  the  foundation  of  our  institutions,  and 
which  was  continued  until  it  was  hushed  by  the  clash  of  arms.  It  is 
enough  for  my  present  purpose  to  say  that,  as  a  matter  of  history,  all  of 
the  political  parties  of  the  past,  when  charged  with  the  responsibility  of 
directing  the  affairs  of  the  Government,  have  maintained,  in  their  prac 
tical  administration  of  it,  precisely  the  same  principles  which  were  held 
by  President  Lincoln.  The  principles  as  to  the  powers  of  the  National 
Government  which  were  acted  upon  by  Washington  and  Jackson,  and 
which  are  sustained  by  the  decisions  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  and  by 
which  Lincoln  and  the  Union  armies  crushed  the  Rebellion  and  rescued 
the  Republic,  are  among  the  legitimate  and  irreversible  results  of  the 
war  which  ought  not  to  be  questioned. 

Touching  the  remaining  important  controversy  settled  by  the  war, 
the  public  avowals  of  opinion  are  almost  all  in  favor  of  the  faithful 
acceptance  of  the  new  constitutional  amendments.  On  this  subject  the 
speeches  of  public  men  and  the  creeds  and  platforms  of  the  leading 
political  parties  have  for  some  years  past  been  explicit.  In  1872,  all 
parties  in  their  respective  national  conventions  adopted  resolutions 
recognizing  the  equality  of  all  men  before  the  law,  and  pledging  them 
selves,  in  the  words  of  the  Democratic  National  Convention,  "to  main 
tain  emancipation  and  enfranchisement,  and  to  oppose  the  reopening  of 
the  questions  settled  by  the  recent  amendments  to  the  Constitution." 
In  1876,  the  great  political  parties  again,  in  the  language  of  the  St. 
Louis  National  Convention,  affirmed  their  "devotion  to  the  Constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States,  with  its  amendments  universally  accepted 
as  a  final  settlement  of  the  controversies  that  engendered  the  Civil 
War."  Notwithstanding  these  declarations,  we  are  compelled  to  take 
notice  that,  while  very  few  citizens  anywhere  would  wish  to  reestablish 
slavery  if  they  could,  and  no  one  would  again  attempt  to  break  up  the 
Union  by  secession,  there  still  remains  in  some  communities  a  danger 
ous  practical  denial  to  the  colored  citizens  of  the  political  rights  which 
are  guaranteed  to  them  by  the  Constitution  as  it  now  is.  In  the  crisis 
of  the  war,  Mr.  Lincoln  appealed  to  the  colored  people  to  take  up  arms. 
About  two  hundred  thousand  responded  to  the  call,  enlisted  in  the 
Union  armies,  and  fought  for  the  Union  cause  under  the  Union  flag. 
Equality  of  rights  for  the  colored  people,  from  that  time,  thus  became 
one  of  the  essential  issues  of  the  war.  General  Sherman  said:  "When 
the  fight  is  over,  the  hand  that  drops  the  musket  cannot  be  denied  the 


THE  CENTRAL  WEST  —  NATIONALISM       275 

ballot."  Jefferson  said  long  before:  "The  man  who  fights  for  the  coun 
try  is  entitled  to  vote."  When,  with  the  help  of  the  colored  men,  the 
victory  was  gained,  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  followed  naturally  as 
one  of  its  legitimate  results.  No  man  can  truthfully  claim  that  he  faith 
fully  accepts  the  true  settlements  of  the  war  who  sees  with  indifference 
the  Fifteenth  Amendment  practically  nullified. 

No  one  can  overstate  the  evils  which  the  country  must  suffer  if  law 
less  and  violent  opposition  to  the  enjoyment  of  constitutional  rights  is 
allowed  to  be  permanently  successful.  The  lawlessness  which  to-day 
assails  the  rights  of  the  colored  people  will  find  other  victims  to-mor 
row.  This  question  belongs  to  no  race,  to  no  party,  and  to  no  section. 
It  is  a  question  in  which  the  whole  country  is  deeply  interested. 
Patriotism,  justice,  humanity,  and  our  material  interests,  all  plead  on 
the  right  side  of  this  question.  The  colored  people  are  the  laborers 
who  produce  the  cotton  which,  going  abroad  to  the  markets  of  the 
world,  gives  us  that  favorable  balance  of  trade  which  is  now  doing  so 
much  for  the  revival  of  all  business.  The  whole  fabric  of  society  rests 
upon  labor.  If  free  laborers  suffer  from  oppression  and  injustice,  they 
will  either  become  discontented  and  turbulent,  destroyers  of  property, 
and  not  producers  of  property,  or  they  will  abandon  the  communities 
which  deprive  them  of  their  inalienable  rights.  In  either  case,  social 
order  and  the  peaceful  industries  upon  which  prosperity  depends,  are 
imperilled  and  perhaps  sacrificed.  It  will  not  do  to  say  that  this  is  an« 
affair  which  belongs  solely  to  the  distant  States  of  the  South.  The 
whole  country  must  suffer  if  this  question  is  not  speedily  settled,  and 
settled  rightly.  Where  the  two  races  are  numerous,  prosperity  can  only 
exist  by  the  united  and  harmonious  efforts  of  both  the  white  people  and 
the  colored  people.  The  only  solid  foundations  for  peace  and  progress 
in  such  communities  are  equal  and  exact  justice  to  both  races.  Con 
sider  the  present  situation?  Whatever  complaints  may  have  been  heard 
during  the  progress  of  reconstruction,  candid  men  must  admit  that  all 
sections  and  all  States  are  now  equally  regarded,  and  share  alike  the 
rights,  the  privileges,  and  the  benefits  of  the  common  Government. 
All  that  is  needed  for  the  permanent  pacification  of  the  country  is 
the  cordial  cooperation  of  all  well-disposed  citizens  to  secure  the 
faithful  observance  of  the  equal-rights  amendments  of  the  Constitu 
tion. 

Happily,  in  the  very  communities  where  lawlessness  has  been  most 
general  and  most  successful,  there  are  editors  of  newspapers  and  other 
influential  citizens  who  speak  out  and  denounce  these  crimes  against 
free  government.  It  is  plain  that  a  sound  public  opinion  is  forming 
where  it  is  most  needed.  No  community  can  afford  to  allow  any  of  its 
citizens  to  be  oppressed  —  to  lose  their  rights.  To  be  indifferent  on  the 
subject  is  to  disregard  interest  and  duty.  The  Union  citizens  and  sol 
diers  can  do  much  to  remove  the  evils  we  are  considering.  Let  it  be 
understood  that  no  public  man  in  any  party  will  be  sustained  unless  he 
will  undertake  to  carry  out  in  good  faith  the  pledges  made  in  all  our 


276  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

platforms  in  regard  to  the  rights  of  colored  citizens ;  unless  he  will  sup 
port  laws  providing  the  means  required  to  punish  crimes  against  them; 
and  unless  he  will  oppose  the  admission  of  any  man  to  either  house  of 
Congress  whose  seat  has  been  obtained  by  the  violation  of  the  Fifteenth 
Amendment.  The  right  of  suffrage  is  the  right  of  self -protect  ion.  Its 
free  exercise  is  the  vital  air  of  republican  institutions. 

To  establish  now  the  state-rights  doctrine  of  the  supremacy  of  the 
States,  and  an  oligarchy  of  race,  is  deliberately  to  throw  away  an  essen 
tial  part  of  the  fruits  of  the  Union  victory.  The  settlements  of  the 
war  in  favor  of  equal  rights  and  the  supremacy  of  the  laws  of  the  nation 
are  just  and  wise  and  necessary.  Let  them  not  be  surrendered.  Let 
them  be  faithfully  accepted  and  firmly  enforced.  Let  them  stand,  and, 
with  the  advancing  tide  of  business  prosperity,  we  may  confidently 
hope,  by  the  blessing  of  Divine  Providence,  that  we  shall  soon  enter 
upon  an  era  of  harmony  and  progress  such  as  has  been  rarely  enjoyed 
by  any  people. 

This  speech  attracted  universal  attention  and  for  days  was 
the  most  important  topic  of  editorial  discussion.  By  the  Demo 
cratic  papers  the  President  was  condemned  for  making  a  polit 
ical  speech  on  such  an  occasion  and  was  censured  as  having 
abandoned  his  policy  of  conciliation.  But  a  calm  comparison  of 
his  language  in  this  address  with  what  he  had  said  in  his  letter 
of  acceptance,  in  his  inaugural  address,  and  in  his  Southern 
speeches,  fails  to  reveal  any  substantive  inconsistency.  Always 
he  had  insisted  that  there  should  be  no  invasion  of  the  province 
of  state  authority  by  the  National  Government.  Always,  too, 
he  had  insisted  that  the  Constitution  with  its  new  amendments 
should  be  loyally  accepted  and  faithfully  enforced  in  all  the 
States.  And  this  the  Republican  and  independent  press  was 
diligent  in  setting  forth.  The  New  York  Evening  Post  fairly  re 
flected  the  controlling  opinion  of  the  country  when  it  said  of  the 
Youngstown  speech:  "We  cannot  recall  just  now  a  more  concise 
and  cogent  statement  of  the  powers  and  their  restrictions  with 
which  the  founders  of  the  Republic  clothed  the  United  States 
and  the  several  States,  and  of  the  rights  which  must  be  guaran 
teed  to  every  citizen  of  the  Republic,  unless  our  political  insti 
tutions  are  to  fail  miserably."  l 

The  very  next  day  after  the  Youngstown  address,  Mr.  Hayes 
made  a  speech  at  Detroit,  at  the  Michigan  State  Fair,  of  quite 
a  different  character.  In  this  he  dwelt  upon  the  business  and 
i  September  19,  1879. 


THE  CENTRAL  WEST  —  NATIONALISM        277 

industrial  condition  of  the  country,  rejoicing  in  the  fulfilment  of 
the  prophecy  of  returning  prosperity  which  he  had  made  in  his 
speeches  of  the  year  before,  and  urging  men  to  prolong  good 
times  by  the  homely  virtues  of  thrift  and  paying  as  you  go.1  In 
the  course  of  this  speech,  he  said :  — 

A  year  ago,  making  a  visit  of  two  or  three  weeks  to  the  West  and 
Northwest,  I  thought  it  might  be  useful  to  speak  of  the  financial  con 
dition  of  the  country,  and  to  present  a  hopeful  view  of  the  situation 
and  prospects.  The  business  depression  which  followed  the  panic  of 
1873  had  then  lasted  five  years;  but  there  were  indications  of  improve 
ment,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  what  was  most  needed  was  confidence, 
and  that  a  presentation  of  encouraging  facts  and  figures  would  tend 
to  inspire  confidence.  It  was  my  opinion,  also,  that  there  could  be  no 
permanent  revival  of  business  prosperity  until  the  currency  was  placed 
upon  a  sound  basis,  and  was  exchangeable  at  its  par  value  in  the  uni 
versally  recognized  money  of  the  world.  The  friends  of  the  constitu 
tional  currency  generally  believed  that  this  end  could  only  be  reached 
by  the  faithful  execution  of  the  Resumption  Act;  that  there  was  no 
need  of  further  legislation;  and  that  the  true  policy  was  to  stop  tink 
ering  with  the  currency.  Accordingly,  the  pith  of  what  I  wished  to 
say  last  year  to  audiences  like  this  was,  that  we  ought  to  "let  well 
enough  alone."  Now  the  resumption  of  specie  payments  has  come,  and 
with  it  have  come  also  better  times. 

The  evidences  of  good  times  are  numerous,  palpable,  and  cheering. 
[The  increase  in  railway  earnings,  and  construction;  the  greater  activity 
in  all  branches  of  manufacturing  and  industry;  the  wonderful  increase 
in  the  exportation  of  farm  products,  as  shown  by  official  statistics.] 

1  This  was  a  favorite  thought  with  Mr.  Hayes;  he  had  pondered  it  afresh  for 
his  discussions  of  this  year.  In  the  diary  (July  13,  1879)  he  wrote:  — 

"At  church  thought  of  this  course  of  observation  in  my  talks  to  people  this 
fall.  Avoid  mere  electioneering  topics.  Call  attention  to  what  I  said  a  year  ago, 
to  the  effect  that  we  were  on  the  threshold  of  better  times,  that  the  true  course, 
the  wise  course,  was  to  let  well  enough  alone,  that  resumption  would  come  if  there 
was  no  more  tinkering,  and  that  until  it  came  there  could  be  no  solid  prosperity, 
and  that  with  it  good  times  were  certain.  Now  the  resumption  fires  are  starting 
up  in  all  directions,  the  good  times  are  coming  —  coming  and  have  come.  And 
what  now  is  wisdom,  what  is  good  conduct?  What  will  keep  the  times  good? 
What  will  enable  us  to  feel  that  resumption  has  come  to  stay?  Again  I  say,  let 
well  enough  alone.  The  policy  which  brought  resumption  and  better  times  will 
make  resumption  and  prosperity  permanent. 

"The  one  thought  I  would  like  to  lodge  in  all  minds  is,  keep  out  of  debt;  if  in 
debt,  now  is  the  time  to  get  out  of  it  in  the  only  safe  way,  by  honestly  paying 
them.  The  honest  payment  of  debts  is  the  safest  way  to  get  rid  of  them.  But  let 
every  man,  every  corporation,  and  especially  let  every  village,  town,  and  city, 
every  county  and  State,  get  out  of  debt  and  .keep  out  of  debt.  It  is  the  debtor 
that  is  ruined  by  hard  times." 


278  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

With  these  authentic  and  significant  facts  and  figures  before  us,  we 
may  reasonably  assume  that  the  country  has  entered  again  upon  a 
period  of  business  prosperity.  The  interesting  questions  now  are, 
Have  the  good  times  come  to  stay?  What  can  we  do  in  private  and 
in  public  affairs  to  prolong  the  period  of  prosperity,  and  to  mitigate 
the  severity  of  hard  times  when  they  again  return?  The  prospects 
are  now  bright,  but  all  experience  teaches  that  the  wheel  of  human 
affairs,  always  turning,  brings  around  those  tremendous  events  called 
financial  panics,  if  not  with  regularity,  at  any  rate  with  certainty.  The 
writer  of  an  intelligent  article  in  one  of  the  monthlies  says:  "Panics,  it 
has  been  observed,  recur  about  every  twenty  years  in  this  country,  and 
almost  every  ten  years  in  England."  The  explanation  of  this  is  not 
difficult  to  discover.  In  good  times  the  tendency  is  to  extravagance, 
to  speculation,  and  to  running  in  debt.  Many  spend  more  than  they 
earn,  and  the  balance  of  trade  soon  begins  to  run  against  communities 
and  individuals.  When  this  has  continued  until  the  business  of  the 
country  is  loaded  down  with  debts,  a  financial  crisis  is  inevitable,  and 
only  waits  for  "the  last  straw."  If  this  view  is  correct,  the  way  to  meet 
the  dangerous  tendencies  of  flush  times  is  plain.  Let  two  of  Dr.  Frank 
lin's  homely  proverbs  be  strictly  observed  by  individuals  and  by  com 
munities.  One  is,  "Never  live  beyond  your  means";  and  the  other  is 
like  unto  it,  namely  —  "Pay  as  you  go." 

It  is  easy  to  see  that,  if  these  old  maxims  of  the  philosophy  of  common 
sense  could  have  general  practical  acceptance,  the  period  of  good  times 
would  be  greatly  prolonged,  and  the  calamities  of  hard  times  would  be 
vastly  diminished.  There  can  be  no  great  financial  crisis  without  large 
indebtedness,  and  the  distress  which  it  brings  is  in  proportion  to  the 
extent  of  the  extravagance,  speculation,  and  consequent  indebtedness 
which  have  caused  it.  Those  who  are  out  of  debt  suffer  least.  Where 
the  debts  are  heaviest  the  calamity  is  heaviest.  But  it  is  of  public  in 
debtedness,  and  especially  of  the  debts  of  towns  and  cities,  that  I  wish 
to  say  a  few'  words. 

The  practice  of  creating  public  debts,  as  it  prevails  in  this  country, 
especially  in  municipal  government,  has  long  attracted  very  serious  at 
tention.  It  is  a  great  and  growing  evil.  States,  whose  good  name  and 
credit  have  been  hitherto  untarnished,  are  threatened  with  repudiation. 
Many  towns  and  cities  have  reached  a  point  where  they  must  soon  face 
the  same  peril.  I  do  not  now  wish  to  discuss  the  mischiefs  of  repudia 
tion.  My  purpose  is  merely  to  make  a  few  suggestions  as  to  the  best 
way  to  avoid  repudiation.  But,  in  passing,  let  me  observe:  Experience 
in  this  country  has  shown  that  no  State  or  community  can,  under  any 
circumstances,  gain  by  repudiation.  The  repudiators  themselves  cannot 
afford  it.  The  community  that  deliberately  refuses  to  provide  for  its 
honest  debts  loses  its  good  name  and  shuts  the  door  to  all  hope  of  future 
prosperity.  It  demoralizes  and  degrades  all  classes  of  its  citizens.  Cap 
ital  and  labor  and  good  people  will  not  go  to  such  communities,  but  will 
surely  leave  them.  If  I  thought  my  words  could  influence  any  of  my 


THE  CENTRAL  WEST  —  NATIONALISM       279 

countrymen  who  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  compelled  to  consider  this 
question,  I  would  say,  let  no  good  citizen  be  induced  by  any  prospect 
of  advantage  to  himself  or  to  his  party  to  take  a  single  step  toward 
repudiation.  Let  him  set  his  face  like  flint  against  the  first  dawning  of 
an  attempt  to  enter  upon  that  downward  pathway.  It  has  been  well 
said  that  the  most  expensive  way  for  a  community  to  get  rid  of  its 
honest  debts  is  repudiation. 

Returning  to  the  subject  of  municipal  debts,  it  is  not  alone  those 
that  live  in  towns  and  cities  who  are  interested  in  their  wise  and  eco 
nomical  government.  All  who  trade  with  their  citizens,  all  who  buy  of 
them,  all  who  sell  to  them  —  in  a  word,  the  whole  of  the  laboring  and 
producing  classes  —  must  bear  a  share  of  their  burdens.  The  taxes 
collected  in  the  city  find  their  way  into  the  price-lists  of  what  is 
bought  of  and  sold  to  the  farmers  and  laborers  in  the  country.  On  the 
questions  of  |debt  and  taxation  the  dwellers  of  the  city  and  those  who 
habitually  deal  with  them  form  together  one  community  and  have  a 
common  interest. 

The  usual  argument  in  favor  of  creating  a  city  debt  is,  that  the  pro 
posed  building  or  improvement  is  not  for  this  generation  alone,  but  is 
also  for  the  benefit  of  posterity,  and,  therefore,  posterity  ought  to  help 
to  pay  for  it.  This  reasoning  will  not  bear  examination.  Each  genera 
tion  has  its  own  demands  upon  its  purse.  It  should  not  be  called  on  to 
pay  for  the  cast-off  garments  of  its  ancestors.  .  .  . 

Municipal  borrowing  is  the  parent  of  waste,  profligacy,  and  corrup 
tion.  Money  that  comes  easily  goes  easily.  In  this  career  of  reckless 
extravagance,  cities  build  and  buy  what  they  do  not  need,  and  pay  for 
what  they  get  far  more  than  it  is  worth.  .  .  .  The  volume  of  the  local 
indebtedness  of  the  country  already  exceeds  one  half  the  great  war  debt 
of  the  nation,  and  the  interest  upon  them,  from  the  high  rates  usually 
paid,  will  soon  equal  the  total  interest  upon  the  national  debt. 

The  urgent  question  that  is  now  pressing  for  consideration  is,  how  to 
deal  with  these  large  and  increasing  local  debts;  The  best  answer,  it 
seems  to  me,  is  simple,  ready  at  hand,  and  sufficient :  Do  not  have  any 
local  debts.  Let  it  be  embodied  in  the  constitution  and  laws  of  every 
State  that  local  authorities  shall  create  no  debts;  that  they  shall  make 
no  appropriations  of  money  until  it  is  collected  and  on  hand;  that  all 
appropriations  shall  be  for  specific  objects,  and  that  as  to  existing  debts, 
suitable  provision  shall  be  made  for  their  extinguishment.  .  .  . 

The  policy  of  preventing  the  creation  of  local  debts  by  positive  con 
stitutional  prohibition  is  fully  sustained  by  the  experience  of  the  States 
with  respect  to  state  debts.  Constitutions  in  many  of  the  old,  and  in 
all  of  the  new,  States  have  been  adopted  within  the  last  thirty  or  forty 
years,  and  almost  all  of  them  contain  provisions  denying  to  state  legis 
latures  the  authority  to  create  debts  except  in  case  of  war,  insurrec 
tion,  or  other  extraordinary  emergency.  Under  the  operation  of  these 
prohibitory  provisions,  the  debts  existing  at  the  time  of  their  adoption 
have  been  greatly  reduced,  and  the  only  States  now  embarrassed  by 


280  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

debt  are  those  whose  constitutions  do  not  contain  this  wise  prohibi 
tion. 

The  general  policy  of  the  National  Government  on  the  subject  of  debt 
has  always  been  sound.  It  may  be  summed  up  in  a  few  words:  No 
debts  to  be  created  in  time  of  peace,  and  war  debts  to  be  paid  off  as 
rapidly  as  possible  when  the  war  ends.  .  .  . 

As  a  marked  evidence  of  the  fidelity  with  which  our  national  obliga 
tions  of  this  description  have  heretofore  been  met,  it  is  worthy  of  note 
that,  during  the  War  of  1812,  the  interest  on  the  portion  of  the  debt 
held  by  British  subjects  was  regularly  paid,  the  agents  of  the  holders 
in  this  country,  owing  to  the  interruption  of  direct  commercial  inter 
course,  being  sometimes  obliged  to  resort  to  circuitous  and  extremely 
difficult  routes  for  the  transmission  of  payment.  I  find  the  fact  re 
marked  upon  by  Mr.  Alexander  Trotter,  the  British  author  of  a  stand 
ard  work  published  in  1839,  upon  our  national  financial  position  and 
credit  at  that  time.  The  author  also  notes  the  fact  that  the  act  of  Con 
gress  passed  by  the  first  Congress  that  assembled  after  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution,  to  make  provision  for  the  payment  of  all  the  out 
standing  engagements  of  the  Government,  "with  a  degree  of  integrity 
which  is  rare  in  the  history  of  the  financial  embarrassments  of  states," 
postponed  the  claims  of  creditors  at  home  until  those  of  the  foreign 
creditor  were  provided  for. 

Our  wrar  debt  resulting  from  the  War  for  the  Union  amounted  to 
about  $3,000,000,000,  and  has  been  reduced  to  about  $2,000,000,000. 
.  .  .  The  policy  of  paying  off  the  national  debt,  which,  at  the  close 
of  the  war,  was  urged  upon  the  country  with  so  much  force  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr.  Hugh  McCulloch,  has  borne  good  fruit. 
Young  men  of  this  audience  can  remember  when  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  found  great  difficulty  in  borrowing  so  small  a  sum 
as  $25,000,000,  and  for  a  considerable  part  of  it  was  compelled  to  pay 
as  high  as  twelve  per  cent.  Last  spring,  by  reason  of  improved  and 
strengthened  credit,  the  Government  had  no  trouble  in  borrowing,  in 
the  single  month  of  April,  $225,000,000  at  four  per  cent  interest.  The 
amount  offered  in  that  month  exceeded  $500,000,000,  and  there  was 
one  day  when  the  amount  offered  was  $159,000,000. 

Let  the  policy  of  extinguishing  the  national  debt  be  adhered  to.  Let 
it  be  the  fixed  purpose  of  the  people  and  all  who  administer  the  Gov 
ernment  to  pay  off  the  debt  within  thirty-three  years.  It  can  be  done 
by  economy  and  prudence  without  a  material  increase  of  the  burdens 
of  the  people.  The  payment  of  $33,000,000  a  year  upon  the  principal 
of  the  debt,  or  into  a  sinking-fund  for  that  purpose,  will,  within  thirty- 
three  years,  leave  us  free  from  debt  as  a  nation. 

That  which  is  sound  policy  in  national  and  state  affairs,  in  regard 
to  public  debts,  is,  I  believe,  also  wise  policy  in  local  affairs  and  in  pri 
vate  affairs.  Let  it  be  everywhere  adopted,  in  public  and  private,  and 
we  may  welcome  the  advancing  tide  of  better  times,  confident  that  we 
have  found  the  secret  that  will  prolong  their  stay,  and  which  will  go 


THE  CENTRAL  WEST  —  NATIONALISM       281 

far  to  make  us  independent  in  that,  I  trust  distant,  day  when  a  finan 
cial  panic  may  again  strike  down  the  general  prosperity. 

After  the  visit  to  Michigan  the  President  proceeded  to  Kan 
sas,1  where  he  visited  many  of  the  more  important  towns  of  the 
State  and  delivered  many  speeches,  being  greeted  at  all  points 
with  every  demonstration  of  respect.  In  his  speeches  he  repeated 
in  various  forms  the  substance  of  what  he  had  said  at  Youngs- 
town  and  at  Detroit,  and  the  hearty  applause  with  which  his 
words  were  received  was  evidence  that  his  ideas  made  an  im 
pressive  popular  appeal.  At  St.  Joseph,  Missouri  (September 
29),  on  the  return  journey,  an  enthusiastic  welcome  awaited 
him,  and  he  spoke  with  especial  directness  and  vigor.  After 
dwelling  on  the  peculiar  position  of  St.  Joseph,  —  at  the  extreme 
edge  of  the  northernmost  slave  State  and  on  the  border  of  "the 
remarkable  State"  he  had  just  left,  "where  the  antislavery 
sentiment  was  more  pervading  and  more  aggressive  than  in  al 
most  any  other  State,"  —  as  enabling  its  people  to  understand 
alike  the  evils  of  the  old  conditions  and  the  difficulties  and  em 
barrassments  attending  reconstruction,  he  continued :  — 

It  seems  to  me,  and  I  think  I  am  not  mistaken,  that  in  those  [recon 
struction]  measures  there  were  two  leading  ideas,  which  if  generally 
accepted  throughout  our  country,  if  generally  adopted  as  a  rule  of 
action  for  the  general  Government,  and  for  the  State  Governments, 
would  go  far  toward  establishing  a  complete  and  permanent  pacifica 
tion  throughout  our  country.  One  concerns  the  relation  of  the  States 
to  the  general  Government,  and  the  other  is  concerning  the  rights  of 
citizens  under  the  recent  constitutional  amendments. 

The  first  idea  is,  that  equal  and  exact  justice  should  be  extended  to  all 
sections  and  to  all  States;  that  under  a  common  Government  equal 
rights  and  privileges,  equal  justice  and  equal  benefits  and  blessings 
should  be  enjoyed  by  all  States  and  all  sections,  and  that  the  general 
Government  should  deal  upon  the  same  principles  and  by  the  same 
methods  with  Texas  and  Kansas,  and  with  Missouri  and  Georgia. 
[Cheers.]  Now,  that  principle  agreed  to  and  established,  and  acted 
upon,  would  be  so  far  so  well.  What  is  the  second?  It  is  like  unto  the 
first  —  that  in  this  country  hereafter,  as  all  its  inhabitants  have  be 
come  citizens  invested  by  the  Constitution  with  equal  civil  and  political 
rights,  that  all  Governments,  State  and  National,  should  treat  all  citi 
zens  as  entitled  to  the  same  with  equal  and  exact  justice,  according  to 

1  The  President  was  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Hayes  and  his  two  elder  sons,  and 
by  General  Sherman  with  members  of  his  staff. 


282  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

the  laws.  With  these  two  principles  accepted  and  enforced,  we  shall 
enter  upon  a  career  of  prosperity  and  harmony,  such  as  the  country  has 
never  known  before.  [Cheers.] 

I  have  spoken,  my  friends,  of  the  National  Government,  and  of  the 
State  Governments.  I  must  go  one  step  further.  All  government  in 
this  free  country  is  at  last  a  government  of  public  opinion.  Public 
opinion  is  back  of  the  National  Government.  It  is  back  of  the  State 
Governments.  It  is  public  opinion  that  rules  in  this  Republic  of  the 
United  States.  [Cheers.]  When,  therefore,  I  come  into  an  assembly 
of  my  fellow  citizens  to  talk  about  the  duty  of  the  Government,  I  reach 
back  and  beyond  the  Government.  The  individual  who  is  Governor  or 
who  is  President  to-day  passes  away,  but  the  people  and  the  popular 
judgment  and  their  ruling  opinion  will  last  through  generations  and 
ages,  as  we  hope.  [Cheers.]  Now,  as  to  popular  opinion,  let  it  be  sound 
on  these  two  great  leading  ideas  and  principles;  let  every  man  feel  that 
he  can  form  a  part  of  that  popular  sentiment  and  opinion;  that  he  is 
responsible  for  what  he  can  do  to  direct  aright  the  general  conduct  of 
the  country  as  to  the  rights  of  the  States  and  as  to  the  rights  of  citizens. 

The  misfortune  of  the  old  time  was  that  there  were  in  this  country 
two  popular  opinions.  There  was  the  popular  opinion  of  the  slavehold- 
ing  States  and  there  was  the  popular  opinion  of  the  free  States.  Now 
let  us  strive  to  be  equal  to  our  opportunities  and  to  the  new  and  im 
proved  condition  of  our  country.  Let  it  be  understood  hereafter  that 
in  all  things  there  is  but  one  popular  opinion  in  our  country  which  is 
to  decide  as  to  every  important  event.  Having  said  this  much  I  wrould 
finally  appeal  to  a  maxim  of  the  old  Native  American  party,  to  which 
I  did  not  belong  [cheers],  for  settlement  of  the  whole  question.  I  did 
not  happen  to  agree  entirely  with  the  old  party  in  reference  to  naturali 
zation.  But  it  did  have  as  its  basis  one  sentiment  with  which  I  am  in 
complete  and  entire  accord.  [Cheers.]  It  is  the  sentiment  of  that  party 
in  regard  to  the  Union,  expressed  in  the  motto,  "The  Union,  the  Con 
stitution,  and  the  Enforcement  of  the  Laws."  [Cheers.]  That  governs 
the  whole  business  of  to-day.  Let  the  popular  sentiment  sustain  that 
old  principle,  and  with  a  favorable  condition  of  pecuniary  and  business 
affairs,  we  shall  enter  upon  an  era  of  prosperity  which  will  be  the  envy 
of  the  civilized  world.  [Prolonged  cheers.] 

On  the  following  day,  Springfield,  Illinois,  threw  open  wide 
its  gates  to  the  President's  party,  Governor  Cullom  acting  as 
host.  At  the  State  House,  where  speeches  of  welcome  were  made 
on  behalf  of  the  State,  of  the  city,  and  of  the  school-children, 
gathered  in  force  to  see  the  President,  Mr.  Hayes  spoke  these 
words :  — 

I  am  profoundly  affected  by  this  generous  reception  and  welcome. 
I  ought  not,  it  seems  to  me,  in  the  presence  of  this  audience,  to  sit  down 


THE  CENTRAL  WEST— NATIONALISM         283 

with  a  mere  bald  acknowledgment  of  what  I  owe  to  you  without  at 
least  naming  one  name  —  nay,  I  should  perhaps  name  two  names. 
I  pass  by  all  the  living ;  but  Douglas  and  Lincoln  —  Lincoln  and  Doug 
las  —  are  names  in  the  history  of  Illinois  —  nay,  in  the  history  of  the 
Republic  —  that  are  linked  together  forever  in  adamant,  — 

"Names  that  ne'er 
Shall  sink  while  there  's  an  echo  left  in  air." 

[Applause.]  Of  Lincoln,  you,  his  neighbors  and  his  friends  and  their 
descendants,  of  Lincoln  as  a  man  you,  perhaps,  know  far  better  than  I 
could  possibly  know  him;  but  yet,  as  a  public  servant,  laboring  for  his 
country,  leading  the  embattled  hosts  of  American  patriots,  fighting 
the  battle  of  freedom  for  all  mankind,  laboring  in  his  Administration 
through  those  four  long,  anxious  years,  I  have  had  some  opportunities 
to  know  Mr.  Lincoln  not,  perhaps,  enjoyed  by  you.  I  do  not  disparage 
the  achievements  of  any  of  the  great  men  of  the  past  —  Washington 
and  Jefferson  and  Madison.  The  great  work  that  they  did  outside  of 
the  Presidential  office  was  sufficient  to  make  them  forever  memorable 
in  our  history.  But  in  the  office  of  President,  at  the  head  of  the  Ad 
ministration,  your  beloved  Lincoln  stands  alone,  head  and  shoulders 
above  all  his  predecessors.  [Great  applause.]  In  the  ages  that  are  to 
come,  centuries  hence,  when  the  names  of  the  ordinary,  fair-minded 
Presidents,  who  do  faithfully  their  duties  in  their  place,  when  their 
names  shall  simply  serve  to  mark  a  date,  —  no  more  than  a  single  date 
in  the  almanac,  any  one  of  them,  —  Lincoln  will  stand  out  as  the  man 
who  did  the  work  of  his  century,  never  to  be  forgotten. 

Then  the  party  visited  the  State  Fair  where  more  speeches 
were  made  and  more  enthusiasm  abounded,  and  the  day  ended 
with  a  brilliant  reception  at  the  Executive  Mansion.  The  next 
day  the  journey  was  made  —  with  cannon  booming  and  bands 
playing  at  every  station  —  to  Indianapolis.  Here  a  great  in 
dustrial  parade,  in  connection  with  the  State  Fair,  had  been 
arranged  to  celebrate  the  President's  visit;  and  nowhere  in  all 
the  long  trip  was  there  a  warmer  welcome  or  greater  manifesta 
tion  of  popular  esteem.  In  his  speech  at  the  fairground  the  Presi 
dent  refused  to  regard  the  demonstration  as  intended  simply 
to  do  him  honor.  Rather  he  said:  "You  are  here  to  welcome  the 
coming  of  better  times.  You  are  here  to  rejoice  over  and  be  glad 
and  to  welcome  the  return  of  a  solid  currency;  to  welcome  the 
restoration  of  individual  and  national  credit,  after  the  long  night 
of  five  or  six  years  of  depression,  of  gloom,  and  of  financial  dis 
aster,  and  to  welcome  the  good  time  coming."  He  spoke  then 
of  the  resources  and  development  of  the  State;  paid  high  tribute 


284  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

to  the  memory  of  Oliver  P.  Morton  as  the  greatest  of  the  war 
Governors;  and  ended  with  a  plea  for  the  encouragement  of  a 
common  sentiment  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  He  said :  — 

In  the  past  one  of  the  troubles  has  been  that  in  each  section  of  the 
country  they  had  a  separate  and  distinct  public  opinion,  by  which  all 
men  and  all  events  were  judged.  A  man  in  Georgia  did  not  care  a  straw 
what  you  people  in  Indiana  thought  about  anything  he  might  do  or  say, 
and  Oliver  P.  Morton  and  other  men  like  him  did  not  care  much  about 
what  they  thought  down  in  Georgia  about  what  he  said;  and  this  was 
true  of  other  sections  of  the  country.  But  now  that  old  line  of  division 
has  been  largely  broken  down,  so  that  a  man  can  enunciate  the  same 
sentiments  at  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  and  be  applauded  in  the  same  way 
for  these  utterances  that  I  am  here  to-day.  A  change  came,  but  it  has 
come  slowly.  It  does  not  come  as  fast  as  we  would  like  to  have  it  come; 
but  slavery  lasted  for  two  hundred  years,  and  the  education  and  prej 
udices  of  two  hundred  years  are  not  to  be  wiped  out  in  one  Adminis 
tration.  What  we  want  is  that  in  every  section  of  the  country  whatever 
is  said  and  done,  under  pressure  of  public  opinion,  shall  be  done  by  the 
common  public  opinion  of  the  whole  United  States.  The  people  of 
Indianapolis,  each  one  of  you,  should  have  the  same  share  in  forming 
public  opinion  that  governs  Georgia  and  California,  that  you  have  in 
forming  the  public  opinion  that  governs  Indiana. 

It  was  doubtless  an  unpremeditated  felicity  that  this  last 
speech  of  the  trip,  like  the  one  at  St.  Joseph,  thus  reached  its 
climax  in  the  noble  aspiration  for  a  common  public  opinion  of 
all  States  and  sections  which  should  control  political  speech  and 
action.  It  is  evident  from  contemporary  newspaper  comment 
that  the  President's  speeches,  —  being,  as  one  writer  of  the  day 
characterized  them,  "not  the  studied  efforts  of  the  politician, 
eager  to  impress  his  hearers  with  an  idea  of  his  own  importance; 
but  the  frank  expressions  of  a  well-informed  man  desirous  of 
fostering  sound  views  of  national  questions  among  the  masses, 
and  of  cultivating  a  feeling  of  hearty  good- will  between  different 
sections  of  the  country,"  1  —  had  a  most  wholesome  effect  on 
public  sentiment,  rasped  as  it  had  been  by  the  bitterness  of 
partisan  debate  and  sectional  recrimination  during  the  long 
special  session  of  Congress.  One  of  the  most  intelligent  of  the 
independent  journals  of  the  day,  the  Indianapolis  News,  re 
flected  the  judgment  of  thoughtful  men  when,  in  welcoming  the 
President,  it  said  that  his  task  had  been  to  restore  peace;  that 
1  Baltimore  American,  October  1,  1879. 


THE  CENTRAL  WEST—NATIONALISM         285 

"the  people,  not  those  who  too  often  presume  to  speak  for  them, 
being  assured  that  his  aim  was  lofty,  his  endeavor  earnest,  and 
his  patience  great  enough  to  go  forward  to  the  end  and  await 
the  result,  had  been  glad  to  do  honor  to  the  man  who  had  had 
the  penetration  to  discern  their  better  nature."  "No  Presi 
dent,"  the  editor  continued,  "ever  had  heartier  welcomes  or 
truer  ones,  .  .  .  and  year  after  year  they  have  been  greater  and 
warmer,  as  time  has  brought  President  and  people  closer,  and 
given  a  clearer  view  of  their  unity  of  purpose.  .  .  .  No  President 
has  ever  come  into  so  direct  contact  with  the  mass  of  the  people 
—  the  non-ruling  class.  .  .  .  There  he  has  his  truest  friends; 
there  he  has  his  strongest  support."  * 

1  The  Indianapolis  News,  October  1,  1879. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

AMONG  THE  PEOPLE;  THE  PACIFIC  COAST  —  EDUCATION 

IN  the  last  year  of  his  term  Mr.  Hayes  made  the  longest  ex 
pedition  ever  undertaken  up  to  that  time  by  any  President. 
This  was  a  visit  to  the  Pacific  Coast  —  the  first  visit  to  that  re 
mote  part  of  the  country  by  any  Chief  Magistrate.  Mr.  Hayes 
had  contemplated  making  this  journey  early  in  the  summer  of 
1879,  but  the  prolonged  special  session  of  Congress  thwarted 
his  plans.  Before  describing  this  journey,  however,  mention 
should  be  made  of  certain  other  memorable  appearances  of  the 
President  that  year.  In  midsummer  he  visited  New  Haven  to 
attend  the  annual  commencement  of  Yale  University,  being  the 
guest  while  there  of  his  kinsman,  Mr.  Thomas  R.  Trowbridge. 
All  sorts  of  attentions  were  bestowed  upon  him  by  the  towns 
people,  and  the  university  conferred  upon  him  the  honorary 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  At  the  alumni  banquet,  President 
Porter,  introducing  Mr.  Hayes  as  a  "recent  graduate,"  said: 
"There  is  one  truth  which  he  has  announced  and  wrought  into 
our  hearts  which  I  will  mention:  'He  serves  his  party  best  who 
serves  his  country  best.'  To  have  done  this  alone  is  enough 
glory  for  one  Administration."  Mr.  Hayes  in  his  response,  after 
expressing  appreciation  of  the  manner  of  his  reception,  said :  — 

You  will  readily  recall  the  exciting  events  of  four  years  ago,  during 
the  embarrassing  period  which  intervened  between  the  election  and  the 
final  decision  of  the  question  as  to  who  should  be  the  incumbent  of  the 
Presidential  chair.  I  was  much  embarrassed,  for  it  was  plainly  to  be 
seen  that  if  the  trust  and  responsibility  of  that  station  was  to  devolve 
upon  me  the  voyage  would  not  be  over  a  smooth  sea  or  under  halcyon 
skies.  Therefore,  when  it  seemed  probable  that  the  responsibility  might 
devolve  upon  my  shoulders,  my  first  thought  was,  "What  is  the  para 
mount  duty  I  shall  have  to  perform,  and  how  can  it  be  done?'*  It 
seemed  to  me  that  the  permanent  pacification  of  the  country  was  the 
first  duty.  [Applause.]  I  knew  there  were  good  and  true  people  who 
failed  to  see  the  path  of  duty  as  I  did;  but  I  thought  I  saw  the  neces 
sity  of  doing  something  to  restore  the  confidence  of  the  whole  people, 
and  of  bringing  to  the  whole  country  the  rest  and  repose  it  so  sadly 
needed.  [Applause.] 


THE  PACIFIC  COAST  —  EDUCATION         287 

Seeing  this  as  my  first  duty,  I  asked:  "What  can  I  do  to  assure  all, 
that  this  will  be  my  earnest  purpose?"  This  had  been  attempted  in 
party  platforms  and  in  letters  of  acceptance.  What  was  required  by 
the  people,  however,  was  some  distinct,  unmistakable,  and  palpable 
act.  [Applause.]  It  occurred  to  me  that  I  might  find  in  the  South  some 
man  of  the  highest  character  who  had  been  opposed  to  me  through  the 
long  and  bitter  conflict,  and  who  therefore  had  the  confidence  of  the 
Southern  people  against  whom  we  fought,  and  who  would  be  faithful 
to  the  Constitution  as  it  now  is,  and  that  it  would  be  wise  to  invite  such 
a  man  to  a  place  at  the  council-board  of  the  nation.  [Applause.]  I 
found  no  great  political  leader  suggesting  that  this  course  might  possi 
bly  lead  to  a  solution  of  our  difficulties.  While  I  was  pondering  on  the 
course  to  pursue,  there  came  to  me  like  a  flash  of  sunlight  from  the  sky, 
a  letter  from  the  great  and  venerable  man  who  so  long  presided  over 
the  destinies  of  Yale,  and  whom  we  almost  worship.  [Applause.]  With 
out  drifting  into  a  speech,  I  will  say  that  the  suggestions  contained  in 
that  letter  were  in  perfect  accord  with  the  conclusions  of  my  own 
judgment,  and  that  I  followed  implicitly  President  Woolsey's  advice. 
[Applause  and  cheers.] 

All  may  not  have  resulted  as  I  then  believed  and  hoped,  but  I  can 
now  confidently  say,  after  more  than  three  years  of  trial,  that  in  fol 
lowing  his  advice  I  found  the  true  Key  to  the  situation.  [Applause 
and  cheers.]  .  .  . 

Indebted,  therefore,  as  I  am,  at  all  points,  to  this  institution,  I  wish 
to  thank  you;  and,  graduate  as  I  have  been  made  to-day,  I  find  myself 
thanking  myself  while  I  am  thanking  you.  There  is  another  point  to 
which  I  wish  to  allude,  and  yet  it  is  not  a  point,  for  it  has  length,  and 
breadth,  and  thickness.  There  is  an  old  saying,  "You  can  lead  a  horse 
to  water,  but  you  cannot  make  him  drink."  Knowing  the  desire  of  the 
American  people  that  their  representative  to  the  nation  to  which  we  so 
largely  trace  our  lineage  should  be  a  man  reared  up  to  the  full  stature  of 
a  mental  and  moral  manhood,  and  wishing  to  select  the  best  type  of 
American  character,  in  that  emergency  again  I  turned  to  Yale,  and 
found  just  the  man.  I  reversed  the  old  adage  in  this  case,  for  I  brought 
the  water  to  the  horse,  but  President  Porter  would  n't  drink.  [Ap 
plause.]  And  he  was  altogether  right  in  refusing  to  accept  the  position 
tendered  to  him. 

Any  Administration,  and  any  country,  is  more  indebted  to  the  man 
who  is  engaged  in  educating  the  people  than  it  is  to  those  who  are  its 
executive  and  administrative  officers.  The  Executive  is  but  the  figure 
head  at  best.  The  real  government  resides  at  last  in  the  men  who, 
figuratively  speaking,  stand  at  the  helm,  and  have  charge  of  the  boilers 
and  engine  —  the  men  who  form  and  guide  the  public  opinion  which 
propels  the  ship  and  directs  its  course.  The  head  of  such  an  institu 
tion  as  this,  where  moral  and  intellectual  culture  are  combined,  is  the 
man  who  forms  men,  who  control  not  only  the  figurehead  but  control 
the  nation.  I  wish  here  publicly  to  return  thanks  to  the  man  who  had 


288  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

the  judgment  to  give  such  an  example  to  the  nation.  Whether  Yale's 
sons  guide  or  act  as  the  figurehead  of  the  Nation,  I  know  they  will  be 
an  honor  to  you.  Any  Administration  that  is  a  good  one,  or  desires  to 
be  a  good  one,  must  ever  be  grateful  to  such  an  institution  as  this. 
[Applause  and  cheers.] 

A  few  weeks  later  Mr.  Hayes  with  his  family  made  the  usual 
annual  visit  to  his  home  at  Fremont.  From  there  he  attended 
the  reunion  of  the  Ohio  veterans  at  Columbus  (August  11)  and 
of  his  old  regiment  at  Canton  (September  1).  Already  at  this 
time  the  Presidential  campaign  had  begun  and  men's  thoughts 
were  becoming  absorbed  in  the  rival  contentions  of  the  two 
great  parties.  The  President  was,  of  course,  intensely  interested 
in  the  contest  and  most  desirous  for  the  success  of  General  Gar- 
field.  But,  unlike  Presidents  of  a  later  day,  he  thought  it  un 
becoming  to  his  position  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  campaign; 
and  in  all  his  speeches  he  refrained  from  any  discussion  of 
pending  issues.  Both  at  Columbus  and  at  Canton  he  urged  the 
desirability  and  propriety  of  national  aid  to  popular  education. 
This  subject,  which  was  for  many  years  to  command  his  at 
tention  and  enlist  his  endeavors,  had  for  some  time  been  upper 
most  in  his  thought.  It  is  altogether  probable  that  the  exercise 
of  his  duties  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Peabody 
Education  Fund,  to  which  he  was  chosen  in  the  first  year  of  his 
Administration,  had  much  to  do  in  turning  his  mind  so  strongly 
in  this  direction.  He  had  come  to  think,  as  had  many  other  able 
and  patriotic  men,  that  the  enormous  mass  of  ignorance  in  the 
South  was  too  much  for  the  old  slaveholding  States  in  their 
impoverished  condition  to  cope  with  alone;  that  the  safety  and 
perpetuity  of  our  institutions  depended  on  an  intelligent  elec 
torate,  and  that  therefore  some  method  should  be  devised  of 
granting  national  assistance  to  the  common  school  systems  of 
the  various  States.1  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  recall  that  this 
proposal  was  the  subject  of  years  of  debate  in  Congress  and  of 

1  Mr.  Hayes  urged  this  policy  upon  Congress  in  all  his  annual  messages.  The 
success  of  our  institutions,  he  argued,  depended  on  the  virtue  and  intelligence  of 
the  people.  "It  is  vain,"  he  said,  "to  hope  for  the  success  of  a  free  government 
without  the  means  of  insuring  the  intelligence  of  those  who  are  the  source  of 
power."  And  with  one  seventh  of  the  entire  voting  population  illiterate,  he 
thought  the  burden  of  education  too  great  for  the  States  alone  to  bear,  especially 
those  of  the  South  where  the  greatest  proportion  of  illiteracy  existed  and  where 
the  States  were  least  able  to  struggle  with  the  problem. 


THE  PACIFIC  COAST  — EDUCATION          289 

endless  discussion  in  newspapers,  magazines,  and  reviews,  and 
that  the  judgment  of  the  country  finally  pronounced  against  its 
adoption,  as  being  an  invasion  by  national  authority  of  a  prov 
ince  peculiarly  belonging  to  the  individual  States.  But  that 
the  proposition  was  inspired  by  motives  of  the  highest  benev 
olence  and  was  one  worthy  of  the  most  serious  consideration, 
every  thoughtful  man  acknowledged.  The  earnest  plea  of  the 
President  in  its  behalf  was  based  on  grounds  that  demanded  and 
received  the  respectful  examination  of  publicists  and  statesmen. 
At  Columbus  Mr.  Hayes  said :  — 

The  citizens  of  Ohio  who  were  soldiers  in  the  Union  army,  and  who 
have  assembled  here  in  such  large  numbers,  have  many  reasons  for 
mutual  congratulations  as  they  exchange  greetings  and  renew  old 
friendships  at  this  state  reunion.  We  rejoice  that  we  had  the  glorious 
privilege  of  enlisting  and  serving  on  the  right  side  in  the  great  conflict 
for  the  Union  and  for  equal  rights. 

The  time  that  has  passed  since  the  contest  ended  is  not  so  great  but 
that  we  can  without  effort  recall  freshly  and  vividly  the  events  and 
scenes  and  feelings  and  associations  of  that  most  interesting  period  of 
our  lives.  We  rejoice,  also,  that  we  have  been  permitted  to  live  long 
enough  to  see  and  to  enjoy  the  results  of  the  victory  we  gained,  and  to 
measure  the  vast  benefits  which  it  conferred  on  our  country  and  on  the 
world.  .  .  . 

It  must,  perhaps,  be  conceded  that  there  was  one  great  error  in  the 
measures  by  which  it  was  sought  to  secure  the  results  —  to  harvest  the 
fruits  of  our  Union  victory.  The  system  of  slavery  in  the  South  of  neces 
sity  kept  in  ignorance  four  millions  of  slaves.  It  also  left  unprovided 
with  education  a  large  number  of  non-slaveholding  white  people.  With 
the  end  of  the  war  the  slaves  inevitably  became  citizens.  The  unedu 
cated  whites  remained  as  they  had  been,  also  citizens.  Thus  the  grave 
duties  and  responsibilities  of  citizenship  were  devolved  largely,  in  the 
States  lately  in  rebellion,  upon  uneducated  people,  white  and  colored. 
And  with  what  result?  Liberty  and  the  exercise  of  the  rights  of  citi 
zenship  are  excellent  educators.  In  many  respects,  we  are  glad  to  be 
lieve  that  encouraging  progress  has  been  made  at  the  South.  The  labor 
system  has  been  reorganized,  material  prosperity  is  increasing,  race 
prejudices  and  antagonisms  have  diminished,  the  passions  and  ani 
mosities  of  the  war  are  subsiding,  and  the  ancient  harmony  and  con 
cord  and  patriotic  national  sentiments  are  returning.  But,  after  all, 
we  cannot  fail  to  observe  that  immigration,  which  so  infallibly  and 
instinctively  finds  out  the  true  condition  of  all  countries,  does  not 
largely  go  into  the  late  slaveholding  region  of  the  United  States.  A 
great  deal  of  cheap  and  productive  land  can  there  be  found  where 
population  is  not  rapidly  increasing.  When  our  Revolutionary  fathers 


290  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

adopted  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  for  the  government  of  the  Northwest 
Territory,  out  of  which  Ohio  and  four  other  great  States  have  been 
carved,  they  were  not  content  with  merely  putting  into  that  organic 
law  a  firm  prohibition  against  slavery,  and  providing  effectual  guar 
anties  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  but  they  established,  as  the  corner 
stone  of  the  free  institutions  they  wished  to  build,  this  article : "  Religion, 
morality,  and  knowledge  .being  necessary  to  good  government  and 
the  happiness  of  mankind,  schools  and  the  means  of  education  shall 
forever  be  encouraged."  Unfortunately  for  the  complete  success  of 
reconstruction  in  the  South,  this  stone  was  rejected  by  its  builders. 
Slavery  has  been  destroyed  by  the  war;  but  its  evils  live  after  it,  and 
deprive  many  parts  of  the  South  of  that  intelligent  self-government 
without  which,  in  America  at  least,  great  and  permanent  prosperity  is 
impossible. 

To  perpetuate  the  Union  and  to  abolish  slavery  were  the  work  of  the 
war.  To  educate  the  uneducated  is  the  appropriate  work  of  peace.  As 
long  as  any  considerable  numbers  of  our  countrymen  are  uneducated, 
the  citizenship  of  every  American  in  every  State  is  impaired  in  value 
and  is  constantly  imperilled.  It  is  plain  that  at  the  end  of  the  war  the 
tremendous  change  in  the  labor  and  social  systems  of  the  Southern 
States,  and  the  ravages  and  impoverishment  of  the  conflict,  added  to 
the  burden  of  their  debts,  and  the  loss  of  their  whole  circulating  medium, 
which  died  in  their  hands,  left  the  people  of  those  States  in  no  condition 
to  provide  for  universal  popular  education.  In  a  recent  memorial  to 
Congress  on  this  subject,  in  behalf  of  the  trustees  of  the  Peabody  Edu 
cation  Fund,  Hon.  A.  H.  H.  Stuart,  of  Virginia,  shows  that  "two  mil 
lions  of  children  in  the  Southern  States  are  without  the  means  of  in 
struction";  and  adds,  with  great  force:  "Where  millions  of  citizens  are 
growing  up  in  the  grossest  ignorance,  it  is  obvious  that  neither  individual 
charity  nor  the  resources  of  impoverished  States  will  be  sufficient  to 
meet  the  emergency.  Nothing  short  of  the  wealth  and  power  of  the 
Federal  Government  will  suffice  to  overcome  the  evil." 

The  principle  applied  by  general  consent  to  works  of  public  improve 
ment  is  in  point.  That  principle  is,  that  wherever  a  public  improvement 
is  of  national  importance,  and  local  and  private  enterprise  is  inade 
quate  to  its  prosecution,  the  general  Government  should  undertake  it. 
On  this  principle  I  would  deal  with  the  question  of  education  by  the 
aid  of  the  National  Government.  Wherever  in  the  United  States  the 
local  systems  of  popular  education  are  inadequate,  they  should  be  sup 
plemented  by  the  general  Government,  by  devoting  to  the  purpose,  by 
suitable  legislation  and  with  proper  safeguards,  the  public  lands,  or, 
if  necessary,  appropriations  from  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 

The  soldier  of  the  Union  has  done  his  work,  and  has  done  it  well.  The 
work  of  the  schoolmaster  is  now  in  order.  Wherever  his  work  shall  be 
well  done,  in  all  our  borders,  it  will  be  found  that  there,  also,  the  prin 
ciples  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  will  be  cherished,  the  senti 
ment  of  nationality  will  prevail,  the  equal  rights  amendments  will  be 


THE  PACIFIC  COAST  — EDUCATION  291 

cheerfully  obeyed,  and  there  will  be  "the  home  of  freedom  and  the 
refuge  of  the  oppressed  of  every  race  and  of  every  clime." 

At  Canton,  recurring  to  this  subject,  the  President  said :  — 

The  means  at  the  command  of  the  local  and  state  authorities  are  in 
many  cases  wholly  inadequate  to  deal  with  the  question.  The  magni 
tude  of  the  evil  to  be  eradicated  is  not,  I  apprehend,  generally  and  fully 
understood.  Consider  these  facts:  — 

1.  By  the  latest  available  statistics  it  appears  that  in  1878  the  total 
school  population,  white  and  colored,  in  the  late  slaveholding  States, 
was  5,187,584,  and  that  only  2,710,096  were  during  that  year  enrolled 
in  any  school.  This  leaves  2,477,488  —  almost  two  and  a  half  millions 
—  of  the  young  who  are  growing  up  without  the  means  of  education. 
Citizenship  and  the  right  to  vote  were  conferred  upon  the  colored  peo 
ple  by  the  Government  and  people  of  the  United  States.   It  is,  there 
fore,  the  sacred  duty,  as  it  is  the  highest  interest,  of  the  United  States 
to  see  that  these  new  citizens  and  voters  are  fitted  by  education  for  the 
grave  responsibility  which  has  been  cast  upon  them. 

2.  In  the  Territories  of  the  United  States  it  is  estimated  that  there 
are  over  two  hundred  thousand  Indians,  almost  all  of  whom  are  un 
civilized.  .  .  .  The  solution  of  the  Indian  question  will  speedily  be  either 
the  extinction  of  the  Indians  or  their  absorption  into  American  citi 
zenship  by  means  of  the  civilizing  influences  of  education.    With  the 
disappearance  of  game  there  can  no  longer  remain  Indian  hunters  or 
warriors.  .  .  . 

3.  The  people  of  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico  have  never  been 
provided  with  the  means  of  education.   The  number  of  people  in  that 
Territory  in  1870,  ten  years  old  and  upwards,  who  could  not  read  and 
write,  was  52,220.   This  is  largely  more  than  half  the  population.   The 
school  population  is  now  over  thirty  thousand,  of  whom  only  about  one 
sixth  are  enrolled  in  schools.  It  will  not  be  questioned  that  the  power 
of  the  general  Government  to  make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations 
respecting  the  territory  belonging  to  the  United  States  is  sufficient  to 
authorize  it  to  provide  for  the  education  of  the  increasing  mass  of  il 
literate  citizens  growing  up  in  New  Mexico  and  in  the  other  Territories 
of  the  United  States. 

4.  The  number  of  immigrants  arriving  in  the  United  States  is  greater 
than  ever  before.  It  is  not  improbable,  from  present  indications,  that, 
from  this  source  alone,  there  will  be  added,  during  the  current  decade, 
to  the  population  of  our  country  five  millions  of  people.  ...  It  may 
reasonably  be  estimated  that  at  least  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  per 
cent  of  the  immigrants  are  illiterate.    In  the  current  decade  we  shall 
probably  receive  from  abroad  more  than  a  million  of  people  of  school 
age  and  upwards  who  are  unable  to  read  and  write  any  language;  and 
of  these,  about  a  quarter  of  a  million,  in  a  few  years,  will  share  with  us 
equally,  man  for  man,  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  citizen  and 
the  voter. 


RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

Jefferson,  with  his  almost  marvellous  sagacity  and  foresight,  de 
clared  nearly  a  hundred  years  ago,  that  free  schools  were  an  essential 
part  —  one  of  the  columns,  as  he  expressed  it  —  of  the  republican 
edifice,  and  that,  "without  instruction  free  to  all,  the  sacred  flame  of 
liberty  could  not  be  kept  burning  in  the  hearts  of  Americans." 

Madison  said,  almost  sixty  years  ago:  "A  popular  government,  with 
out  popular  information  or  the  means  of  acquiring  it,  is  but  a  prologue 
to  a  farce  or  a  tragedy,  or  perhaps  both." 

Already,  in  too  many  instances,  elections  have  become  the  farce  which 
Madison  predicted;  and  the  tremendous  tragedy  which  we  saw  when 
we  were  soldiers  of  the  Union,  and  in  which  we  bore  a  part,  could  never 
have  occurred  if  in  all  sections  of  our  country  there  had  been  universal 
suffrage  based  upon  universal  education.  In  our  country,  as  everywhere 
else,  it  will  be  found  that,  in  the  long  run,  ignorant  voters  are  powder 
and  ball  for  the  demagogues.  The  failure  to  support  free  schools  in 
any  part  of  our  country  tends  to  cheapen  and  degrade  the  right  of 
suffrage,  and  will  ultimately  destroy  its  value  in  every  other  part  of  the 
Republic. 

The  unvarying  testimony  of  history  is,  that  the  nations  which  win 
the  most  renowned  victories  in  peace  and  war  are  those  which  provide 
ample  means  for  popular  education.  Without  free  schools,  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  affording  to  "every  man  an  unfettered  start  and  a  fair 
chance  in  the  race  of  life."  In  the  present  condition  of  our  country, 
universal  education  requires  the  aid  of  the  general  Government.  The 
authority  to  grant  such  aid  is  established  by  a  line  of  precedents,  be 
ginning  with  the  origin  of  the  Republic  and  running  down  through  al 
most  every  administration  to  the  present  time.  Let  this  aid  be  granted 
wherever  it  is  essential  to  the  enjoyment  of  free  popular  instruction. 

In  the  language  of  Mr.  Webster:  "The  census  of  these  States  shows 
how  great  a  proportion  of  the  whole  population  occupies  the  classes 
between  infancy  and  manhood.  These  are  the  wide  fields,  and  here  is 
the  deep  and  quick  soil  for  the  seeds  of  knowledge  and  virtue ;  and  this 
is  the  favored  season  —  the  very  spring-time  for  sowing  them.  Let 
them  be  disseminated  without  stint.  Let  them  be  scattered  with  a 
bountiful  hand  broadcast.  Whatever  the  Government  can  fairly  do 
toward  these  objects,  in  my  opinion,  ought  to  be  done."  L 

1  Mr.'Hayes  gave  voice  to  the  same  sentiments  in  a  letter  of  August  24,  1880, 
to  Frank  Hatton,  editor  of  the  Burlington,  Iowa,  Hawkeye,  which  was  used  as  a 
campaign  document.  Rewrote:  — 

"General  Garfield  said  in  New  York:  'These  veterans  of  the  war  meet  to-night 
to  stand  guard  around  the  sacred  truths  for  which  we  fought.'  The  truths  for 
which  we  fought  are  national  unity,  the  supremacy  of  the  National  Government, 
and  the  equal  rights  of  all  men  before  the  law. 

"The  perpetuity  of  the  Union  is  established.  The  supremacy  of  the  National 
Government,  although  still  doubted  by  many  and  denied  in  some  influential 
quarters,  has  been  so  fully  sustained  by  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  masterly  opin 
ions,  recently  delivered  in  relation  to  the  new  Constitutional  Amendments  and 


THE  PACIFIC  COAST  — EDUCATION          293 

The  President  ended  his  speech  with  a  review  of  the  financial 
condition  of  the  Government  and  words  of  rejoicing  at  the  great 
and  growing  prosperity  of  the  country. 

On  leaving  Canton  Mr.  Hayes  started  immediately  on  his 
transcontinental  journey.  He  was  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Hayes 
and  two  of  his  sons  (Birchard  and  Rutherford);  General  Sher 
man  and  daughter;  General  and  Mrs.  Mitchell,  and  other  inti 
mate  friends.  At  Omaha  Secretary  Ramsey  joined  the  party. 
At  all  towns  where  the  President's  train  halted,  crowds  of  people 
were  assembled  to  give  the  travellers  noisy  greeting,  and  usually 
the  President  and  General  Sherman  made  brief  speeches.  The 
tour  lasted  two  months,  the  principal  cities  visited  being  Chey 
enne,  Ogden,  Salt  Lake  City,  Virginia  City,  San  Francisco, 
Sacramento,  Portland,  Seattle,  Los  Angeles,  Tucson,  Santa  Fe, 
and  Denver.  It  involved  travel  not  only  by  railway  and 
steamer,  but  also  many  days  by  stage  with  primitive  accom 
modations  at  night.  Several  days  were  spent  in  San  Francisco, 
and  from  there,  as  well  as  from  other  cities,  many  excursions  to 
places  of  interest  near  by  were  made.  Everywhere  enthusiastic 
throngs  welcomed  the  President's  party;  and  cities,  civic  socie 
ties,  and  local  notables  vied  with  one  another  in  devising  public 
demonstrations  and  arranging  elaborate  private  entertainments. 
In  California  especially  parades,  receptions,  balls,  banquets,  and 
sight-seeing  expeditions  left  the  visitors  hardly  time  sufficient 
for  rest;  and  the  orators  and  versifiers  of  the  State  exhausted 

the  validity  of  the  federal  election  laws,  that  hereafter  we  may  confidently  expect, 
in  every  conflict  between  state  laws  and  the  constitutional  laws  of  the  United 
States,  that  the  latter  will  be  held  by  the  general  consent  of  the  country  to  be  of 
paramount  authority  and  obligation;  and  that  the  right  of  final  decision  as  to 
the  eonstitutionality  of  the  laws  of  Congress  resides  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  will  also  be  generally  accepted  as  the  true  doctrine. 

"It  cannot,  however,  be  gainsaid  that  there  is  still  in  our  country  a  dangerous 
practical  denial  of  the  equal  rights  with  respect  to  voting  secured  to  colored  citi 
zens  by  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution.  One  of  the  cogent  argu 
ments  in  favor  of  extending  the  right  of  suffrage  to  the  freedmen  was  that  it 
would  furnish  them  with  the  means  of  self-protection.  It  was  hoped  and  believed 
that  with  the  right  to  vote  they  could  assert  and  maintain  all  of  their  other  rights. 
It  has  been  found,  however,  that  the  ballot,  like  every  other  weapon  of  human 
contrivance,  to  be  effective,  must  be  wielded  by  the  skill  and  intelligence  which 
training  and  education  alone  can  give.  To  guard  the  sacred  truth  of  equal  rights 
we  must  go  one  step  further.  We  should  furnish  to  all  our  countrymen  the  means 
for  that  instruction  and  knowledge  without  which  wise  and  honest  self-govern 
ment  is  impossible." 


294  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

the  vocabulary  of  greeting  and  acclaim.1  As  on  all  the  pre 
vious  journeys  of  the  President  among  the  people  in  various 
parts  of  the  country,  Mrs.  Hayes  shared  the  public  honors  and 
manifestations  of  popular  approval  with  her  husband  and  was 
the  recipient  of  innumerable  special  attentions.2  The  addresses 
made  by  the  President  throughout  this  tour  were  of  the  most 
informal  and  familiar  character,  adapted  with  instinctive  tact 
to  the  varying  circumstances  of  locality  and  occasion.  They 
glowed  with  appreciation  of  the  people's  cordiality  of  welcome; 
they  were  eloquent  in  admiration  of  the  glories  of  the  mountain 
scenery,  and  in  expressing  constantly  increasing  surprise  at  the 
wonderful  resources  and  at  the  development  already  accom 
plished  of  the  Far  Western  country.  In  all  respects  he  had  found 
his  anticipations  outstripped  by  the  facts.  If  he  touched  at  all 
on  questions  of  national  concern,  it  was  to  plead  for  national 
unity  and  to  seek  to  arouse  interest  in  the  cause  of  national 
education  which  he  had  discussed  in  Ohio.  The  most  important 

1  "  Calif ornians  rejoice  in  having  among  them  at  this  moment  the  first  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  who  has  ever  visited  them  whilst  in  office.  He  is  receiv 
ing  everywhere,  and  from  everybody,  just  that  kind  of  whole-souled  welcome 
that  was  to  be  expected  at  the  hands  of  our  people.  He  is  receiving  it,  first,  be 
cause  of  the  respect  due  to  his  high  office,  and  secondly,  because  of  the  esteem  in 
which  he  and  his  family  are  personally  held.  He  is  not  receiving  it  on  any  parti 
san  or  sectional  grounds.  .  .  .  Though  he  took  office  at  a  difficult  time,  under 
most  trying  circumstances,  and  by  the  aid  of  dangerous  —  because  extreme  parti 
san  —  supporters,  yet  he  rose  to  the  full  height  of  his  obligations  to  all  sections. 
He  cut  adrift  from  the  men  who  expected  to  use  him  for  evil,  and  who  are  cha 
grined  because  they  could  not,  and  he  wisely,  generously,  and  most  manfully 
gave  peace  to  those  who  were  sorely  in  need  of  it.  He  has  purified  the  public  serv 
ice,  cleansed  the  official  atmosphere  of  Washington,  set  a  sober,  moral,  and  in 
every  way  noble  example  of  private  and  public  life.  He  has  stood  firmly  by 
sound  finance,  and  so  done  not  a  littl^  to  promote  the  present  prosperity.  He  has 
intrigued  for  no  second  term,  but  is  content  to  hand  over  the  Government,  at  the 
proper  time,  to  his  successor.  Take  it  altogether,  his  course  has  been  admirable. 
It  has  been  creditable  to  himself  and  worthy  of  the  country.  That  all  being  true, 
we  should  have  proven  ourselves  unworthy  of  California's  fair  fame  if  we  had 
extended  to  our  President  and  his  family  a  less  hearty  welcome  than  he  and  they 
are  now  receiving."  (San  Francisco  News  Letter,  September  11,  1880.) 

*  At  San  Jose",  for  example,  the  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union  gave 
her  a  great  reception  and  presented  her  with  a  beautiful  silken  banner,  inscribed 
with  her  name  and  bearing  the  Bible  quotation,  "  She  hath  done  what  she  could." 
A  poem  comparing  her  with  Una  was  read,  the  last  stanza  being:  — 

"Hark  while  we  pledge  her,  not  with  sparkling  wine, 

But  in  our  sweetest,  purest,  brightest  water  — 
Long  life,  and  all  good  gifts  of  God  be  hers, 
Our  Lady  of  the  Light  —  Our  Nation's  Daughter!" 


THE  PACIFIC  COAST  —  EDUCATION          295 

and  serious  speech  of  the  entire  journey  was  made  from  the  steps 
of  the  capitol  at  Sacramento  (September  22)  in  response  to  an 
address  of  welcome  by  Governor  Perkins.  After  speaking  of 
the  impressions  received  during  his  two  weeks  of  travel  in 
California  the  President,  with  frequent  interruptions  of  ap 
plause,  said :  — • 

What  is  to  be  the  future  of  this  beautiful  land?  It  seems  to  me  that 
the  people  of  the  Pacific  Coast  have  upon  them  a  great  responsibility. 
It  is  an  old  theme  of  discussion,  I  know,  in  debating  societies,  as  to 
whether  man's  fortunes  in  this  world,  their  successes  and  failures,  are 
due  more  to  the  circumstances  attending  them  or  to  their  characters, 
their  capacity.  It  is  just  the  same  in  relation  to  communities,  whether 
the  circumstance  attending  them  will  make  them  great  and  successful 
and  happy,  or  whether  it  is  mostly  and  chiefly  their  own  integrity  and 
character.  Now,  let  me  say,  in  my  judgment,  there  is  no  equal  number 
of  people  anywhere  in  the  United  States  having  such  advantages  and 
opportunities  to  do  great  service  to  the  nation  and  mankind  as  the  mil 
lion  or  million  and  a  half  of  people  inhabiting  what  are  known  as  the 
Pacific  States  and  Territories  of  the  United  States.  You  occupy  seven 
teen  degrees  of  latitude  on  the  Pacific  Ocean;  then  with  a  little  gap  it 
goes  on  the  Pacific  again  clear  to  the  polar  regions,  to  the  peninsula 
of  Alaska  and  the  Aleutian  Islands,  stretching  across  like  a  great  scythe, 
sweeping  at  one  grand  swath  the  commerce  of  these  oceans  into  the 
matchless  bay  of  San  Francisco  —  that  city  now,  hereafter,  and  al 
ways,  to  be  the  Queen  City  of  the  Pacific.  This  is  what  you  possess 
geographically.  You  have  your  mines  of  inexhaustible  wealth,  and  your 
commerce;  you  have  the  capacity  for  a  population  not  less  than  that 
of  our  whole  country  at  the  present  time;  fifty  millions  can  live  upon 
this  stretch  of  territory.  And  now  the  question  is,  Will  this  people  that 
has  done  so  much  already,  use  these  advantages  so  as  to  benefit  the 
nation  and  mankind? 

Our  fathers,  who  lived  just  along  the  margin  of  the  Atlantic,  going 
scarcely  beyond  the  tidewater  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  began  one  hun 
dred  years  ago  to  build  up  a  nation  upon  new  principles.  They  stood 
upon  three  great  principles,  set  forth  in  three  great  charters.  It  seems 
to  me  that  if  we  shall  regard  those  charters  —  if  we  shall  embody  in  our 
own,  in  our  institutions,  those  principles,  we  shall  be  able  to  go  forward 
conquering  and  to  conquer.  First,  there  is  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence;  second,  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  for  the  government  of  the 
territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio;  third,  our  Constitution.  I  shall  not 
detain  you  with  any  lengthy  discussion  of  the  principles  of  those  great 
instruments,  but  merely  name  the  principles. 

First,  then,  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  It  embodies  the  senti 
ment  expressed  by  Lincoln:  "Let  every  man  have  a  fair  start  and  an 
equal  chance  in  the  race  of  life."  It  expressed  the  sentiment  of  the 


296  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

Divine  Master:  "Do  unto  others  as  ye  would  they  should  do  unto  you.*' 
It  is  the  great  corner-stone  —  "Equal  rights  of  all  men  before  the  law." 
That  is  the  very  foundation-stone  of  our  institutions.  My  friends,  that 
victory  is  alone  worth  having  —  that  victory  which  causes  the  soldier 
the  greatest  delight  —  which  is  won  after  a  long  and  stubborn  fight  — 
victory  snatched  out  of  the  very  jaws  of  defeat.  Then,  whatever  diffi 
culties  you  have  here  with  these  great  questions,  they  will  all  work  out 
right  if  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  will  stand  on  that  great  principle  of  equal 
rights  of  all  men. 

Now,  the  next  one,  the  Ordinance  of  1787.  If  you  are  to  have  one 
race,  equal  suffrage,  universal  suffrage,  you  can  only  do  it  by  having 
universal  education.  Religion,  morality,  and  knowledge  are  essential 
to  good  government,  and  therefore  free  schools  should  be  encouraged. 
With  the  motto  of  equal  rights  and  universal  education,  every  com 
munity  is  safe. 

Now  for  the  third  and  last.  What  is  the  essence  of  the  Constitution? 
Is  it  not  this:  That  this  country,  all  these  States,  with  their  different 
names,  their  different  methods  of  local  government,  their  different  ways, 
belong  at  last  to  one  Union,  which  is  to  be  perpetual,  and  over  all  one 
supreme  government  controlling  the  things  which  are  of  general  in 
terest  to  all  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  leaving  the  local  self- 
government  to  control,  under  certain  limitations,  the  things  that  belong 
only  to  the  locality? 

Now,  with  these  three  principles  we  are  safe.  Think  of  the  difference 
of  one  government  over  all  these  States  from  what  it  would  be  if  there 
were  thirty-eight  sovereign  governments  over  them,  each  State  with  its 
flag,  each  State  with  its  navy,  with  its  army,  with  its  immense  debt. 
Why,  my  friends,  if  the  Rebellion  had  succeeded,  and  this  country  had 
been  torn  into  separate  confederacies,  what  would  the  world  ever  care 
for  the  flag  of  any  State,  however  great?  Little  jarring  communities, 
thirty-eight  of  them,  rivals  of  each  other,  their  flags  would  command 
no  respect  abroad.  And  now,  with  one  flag,  and  one  country,  and  one 
Constitution,  and  one  destiny,  where  are  we?  We  have  the  judgment 
of  the  world  on  that  question.  As  I  said  at  the  soldiers'  reunion  in 
Ohio,  and  I  say  it  to  you  now,  there  is  one  flag  in  the  world,  and  only 
one,  which  no  good  man  or  woman  ever  wishes  to  leave  for  any  other 
flag.  There  is  one  flag  in  the  world,  and  there  is  only  one,  that  good 
men  and  women,  born  under  another  flag,  are  glad  to  fly  to,  leaving 
the  flag  under  which  they  were  born.  That  is  the  world's  judgment  in 
favor  of  the  institutions  and  the  flag  of  the  United  States. 

I  am  glad  to  meet  you  in  California,  and  I  say  to  you  that  we  are 
looking  to  you  as  the  vanguard  of  progress.  As  civilization  advances 
we  have  generally  moved  to  the  westward.  You  have  got  to  the  end  of 
the  march.  You  have  reached  the  margin,  and  now  it  is  for  you  —  and 
I  believe  you  may  safely  be  trusted  with  that  destiny  —  to  see  that  in 
the  future,  as  in  the  past,  American  institutions  and  the  American  name 
shall  lose  nothing  at  your  hands. 


THE  PACIFIC  COAST  — EDUCATION          297 

The  President  arrived  at  his  Fremont  home,  after  his  long 
journeying,  early  Monday  morning,  November  1.  The  evening 
of  that  day  the  Republicans  of  the  town  assembled  and  marched 
with  torches,  band  playing,  to  Spiegel  Grove.  In  response  to 
their  greeting  the  President  made  his  one  brief  political  speech  of 
the  campaign.  He  began  by  saying:  — 

It  is  too  late  now  to  enter  upon  a  political  discussion.  The  important 
question  which  has  engaged  the  American  people  for  the  last  three 
months  has  been  presented,  and  it  is  now  too  late  to  discuss  it.  I  may 
state  what  seems  to  me  to  be  the  question  which  will  be  decided  to 
morrow.  We  are  interested,'  all  of  us,  in  the  national  unity,  in  the 
supremacy  of  the  general  Government.  We  are  interested,  all  of  us, 
in  the  general  prosperity  which  the  American  people  now  enjoy.  The 
desire  of  our  citizens  everywhere  is  that  this  national  unity  shall  be 
preserved;  that  this  prosperity  which  we  are  now  enjoying  shall  be  con 
tinued,  and  the  desire  of  good  citizens  must  be  to-morrow  to  achieve 
those  results. 

These  results,  together  with  the  preservation  of  the  protective 
system  and  of  a  sound  currency,  he  urged,  could  best  be  achieved 
by  the  election  of  General  Garfield.  Two  days  after  the  election 
he  was  at  Cleveland  and  shared  in  the  celebration  of  the  Re 
publican  victory.  He  rejoiced  that  the  majority  was  so  great 
that  there  could  be  no  dispute  over  the  result.  He  "rejoiced  be 
cause  he  knew  that  General  Garfield  was  worthy  of  the  success 
he  had  achieved;  he  was  "the  model  self-made  man  in  our 
history  —  the  best  illustration  and  example  of  what,  under  our 
institutions,  may  occur  to  the  humblest  boy,  an  example  of  what 
can  be  done  in  a  country  where  all  have  a  fair  start  and  an  equal 
chance  in  the  race  of  life."  And  he  rejoiced  because  he  felt  sure 
that  under  Garfield's  wise,  moderate,  and  firm  administration 
the  country  would  enjoy  an  era  of  unequalled  prosperity,  and 
that  every  part  of  the  country  would  continue  to  be  fairly  and 
justly  dealt  with. 

On  the  following  day  to  the  Republican  Business  Men's  Club, 
which  in  entertaining  him  gave  his  Administration  large  credit 
for  the  Republican  victory,  the  President  modestly  said :  — 

The  very  complimentary  remarks  we  have  just  listened  to  contain 
some  things  which  are  rather  extravagant,  but  which  I  have  occasion 
ally  heard  and  which  I  cannot  reply  to  with  more  than  the  simple 
expression  of  my  gratitude  that  my  friends  feel  moved  so  to  speak.  It 


298  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

has  been  my  firm  purpose  to  do  that  which  appeared  to  me  for  the  good 
of  the  whole  country  and  that  of  each  and  all  of  its  inhabitants.  I  have 
believed  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party  were  so  just  and  gen 
erally  wholesome  that  whatever  was  done  for  the  true  welfare  of  the 
country  would  tend  to  the  establishment  of  those  principles  in  public 
estimation.  I  have  acted  in  strict  accordance  with  my  belief,  hereto 
fore  expressed,  that  that  which  best  serves  our  country  serves  best  our 
party.  I  rejoice  that  at  the  close  of  my  term  of  office,  or  so  near  that 
close  that  my  successor  has  been  elected,  my  friends  are  able  to  feel 
that  in  strictly  doing  that  which  seemed  for  the  best  interest  of  the 
whole  country,  I  have  to  some  extent  promoted  the  success  of  the  Re 
publican  party.  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  feel  the  principle  is  established 
that  the  man  who  thinks  what  is  best,  and  will  at  the  same  time  do 
what  is  best  for  all  the  people,  will  also  be  doing  that  which  is  best  for 
the  Republican  party. 

The  President  returned  to  Washington  with  a  light  heart, 
justly  feeling  that  the  country  by  its  decisive  vote  for  General 
Garfield  had  expressed  its  approval  of  his  Administration.  He 
was  ready  to  meet  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  his  remaining 
months  of  service  with  serenity  and  steadiness  of  purpose,  re 
joicing  that  the  goal  of  retirement  was  so  close  at  hand,  and  that 
the  task  he  was  about  to  lay  down  was  to  be  taken  up  by  a 
man  whose  political  principles  and  purposes  were  in  substantial 
accord  with  his  own. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

THE  entrance  of  Mr.  Hayes  and  his  family  into  the  White 
House  marked  the  beginning  of  a  period  of  greater  sim 
plicity  and  moderation  in  the  social  life  of  the  Capital.  Osten 
tation,  extravagance,  and  vulgar  display  of  wealth,  which  had 
grown  to  be  familiar  features  of  the  society  of  Washington, 
demoralizing  in  their  influence  on  the  younger  members  and 
attended  not  infrequently  with  positive  excesses  of  conduct, 
gradually  gave  way  to  "nobler  modes  of  life,  with  sweeter  man 
ners,  purer  laws,"  under  the  force  of  the  example  of  the  White 
House,  where  the  best  traditions  of  genuine  American  family  life 
were  preserved;  harmonious,  sincere,  natural,  and  hospitable.1 

1  The  press  of  the  day  is  full  of  comment  and  commendation  of  the  new  condi 
tions.  For  example,  an  editorial  article  in  the  Philadelphia  Times  (Colonel  A.  K. 
McClure,  editor)  of  March  30  says :  — 

"  Mrs.  Hayes  deserves  the  thanks  of  every  true  woman  for  the  stand  which  she 
has  taken  against  extravagance  in  dress.  She  has  carried  to  the  White  House  the 
same  quiet  dignity  and  ladylike  simplicity  for  which  she  was  distinguished  at 
home;  and  her  dress  on  public  occasions,  while  invariably  handsome  and  becom 
ing  the  wife  of  the  President,  has  also  been  invariably  unostentatious.  At  the 
inauguration  she  wrore  merely  rich  black  silk  with  real  laces,  and  no  jewels  save 
the  brooch  at  her  throat.  At  the  state  dinner  given  by  President  and  Mrs.  Grant 
to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  her  dress  was  a  cameo- tinted  silk,  high  in  the  neck  and 
trimmed  with  fringe  and  lace.  She  wore  no  jewels,  and  her  thick  brown  hair  was 
brushed  plainly  over  her  brow  and  fastened  at  the  back  with  a  tortoise-shell 
comb.  At  even  her  first  reception  as  mistress  of  the  White  House  her  toilet  was 
remarkable  for  its  simple  elegance  rather  than  for  brilliancy  or  cost.  Thus  early 
was  the  example  set. 

"  Society  in  Washington  during  the  past  few  years  has  been  chiefly  remarkable 
for  its  reckless  extravagance,  and  in  nothing  has  that  extravagance  been  carried  to 
greater  lengths  than  in  the  dress  of  its  women.  The  newspapers  have  teemed  with 
stories  of  this;  how  thousands  of  dollars  have  frequently  been  spent  on  a  single 
toilet.  It  has  been  openly,  and  no  doubt  truthfully,  alleged  that  much  of  the  cor 
ruption  which  disgraced  the  late  Administration  arose  from  the  desire  that  wives 
and  daughters  might  be  gorgeously  arrayed  on  state  occasions." 

In  this  connection  the  pen-portrait  of  Mrs.  Hayes,  as  she  appeared  on  the  day 
of  the  inauguration,  by  the  well-known  newspaper  writer,  Mary  Clemmer,  is 
interesting: "  Meanwhile  on  this  man  of  whom  every  one  in  the  nation  is  thinking, 
a  fair  woman  between  two  little  children  looks  down.  She  has  a  singularly  gentle 


300  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

The  White  House  became  for  the  time  being,  so  far  as  its  domes 
tic  life  was  concerned,  an  American  home  of  the  best  type,  in 
which  splendor  of  appointments  and  pomp  of  entertainments 
were  so  dominated  by  the  unaffected  good  taste  and  naturalness 
which  directed  their  use  that  they  were  felt  to  be  wholly  subor 
dinate  and  incidental.  Neither  the  President  nor  Mrs.  Hayes 
attached  overmuch  importance  to  the  "trappings  and  suits," 
the  millinery  and  parade,  of  official  eminence.  All  that  was  right 
and  dignified  and  becoming  to  the  Presidential  station  was 
quietly  observed,  while  artificial  distinction,  flunkey  ism,  "fuss 
and  feathers,"  were  conspicuously  lacking,  and  a  veritably  demo 
cratic  spirit  prevailed. 

The  President's  family  in  the  White  House  consisted  regu 
larly  of  his  second  son,  Webb  Cook  Hayes,  just  out  of  Cornell 
when  his  father  was  elected,  and  the  two  young  children,  Fanny 

and  winning  face.  It  looks  out  from  the  bands  of  smooth  dark  hair  with  that  ten 
der  light  in  the  eyes  which  we  have  come  to  associate  always  with  the  Madonna. 
I  have  never  seen  such  a  face  reign  in  the  White  House.  I  wonder  what  the  world 
of  Vanity  Fair  will  do  with  it?  Will  it  frizz  that  hair?  —  powder  that  face?  — 
draw  those  sweet,  fine  lines  away  with  pride?  —  hide  John  Wesley's  discipline 
out  of  sight,  as  it  poses  and  minces  before  the  first  lady  of  the  land?  What  will  she 
do  with  it,  this  woman  of  the  hearth  and  home?  Strong  as  she  is  fair,  will  she  have 
the  grace  to  use  it  as  not  abusing  it;  to  be  in  it,  yet  not  of  it;  priestess  of  a  religion 
pure  and  undefiled,  holding  the  white  lamp  of  her  womanhood  unshaken  and 
unsullied,  high  above  the  heated  crowd  that  fawns  and  flatters  and  soils?  The 
Lord  in  heaven  knows.  All  that  I  know  is  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  are  the  finest- 
looking  type  of  man  and  woman  that  I  have  seen  take  up  their  abode  in  the 
White  House." 

Vanity  Fair,  during  all  the  years  in  the  White  House,  did  not  change  Mrs. 
Hayes,  unless  it  was  to  strengthen  her  in  the  graces  of  character.  Miss  Clemmer 
testifies  to  this  in  the  Independent  the  week  after  the  close  of  the  Administration. 
Miss  Clemmer  became  herself  personally  devoted  to  Mrs.  Hayes  and  was  often 
the  recipient  of  flowers  from  the  White  House.  June  7, 1880,  in  acknowledgment 
of  a  magnolia  grandiflora,  she  addressed  the  following  sonnet  to  Mrs.  Hayes :  — 

"O  peerless  blossom!  Fold  on  fold  of  snow 

Lieth  unsullied  on  thy  golden  heart, 
Shutting  from  careless  eyes  the  inner  glow 

Half  flame,  half  fragrance,  burning  deep  apart 
Core  of  thy  being.  O'er  thee  rude  winds  blow, 

And  voices  harsh  roll  inward  from  the  mart, 
And  dust  of  highways  on  thy  petals  blow 

But  pure  as  ether  thou  dost  bloom  apart. 

"Like  her  who  sent  thee  unto  me  thou  art! 
Thy  mystic  cup,  thy  consecrated  wine! 
Thy  stainless  gold  lit  by  white  faith  divine, 
Its  samite  folded  o  'er  thy  glowing  heart, 

Thy  state  of  womanhood  star-like  doth  shine, 
Regina,  reigning  at  Levels  holiest  shrine." 


LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  301 

and  Scott.  There  were  frequent  visits  during  vacation  times 
from  the  two  other  sons:  Birchard,  attending  the  Harvard  Law 
School  and  later  entering  on  the  practice  of  his  profession  in 
Toledo;  and  Rutherford,  a  student  at  Cornell.  Miss  Emily 
Platt,  a  niece  of  the  President,  from  Columbus,  Ohio,  spent  many 
months  at  the  White  House;  and  other  relatives  came  for  longer 
or  shorter  stays.  Each  winter  during  the  social  season  Mrs. 
Hayes  kept  the  White  House  full  of  young  ladies,  the  daughters 
of  old  friends  or  of  the  newer  friends  that  the  amenities  of  public 
life  and  her  unfailing  grace  of  personality  won  for  her  in  great 
number.  These  guests,  who  flooded  the  house  with  the  light 
and  joy  of  enthusiastic  youth,  under  the  gentle  stimulus  and 
sympathetic  guidance  of  its  mistress,  never  ceased  in  their  after 
years  to  recall  with  pride  and  elation  the  endless  experiences 
of  the  days  glorified  for  them  by  "the  first  lady  of  the  land." 
Lapse  of  time  only  deepened  the  impression  made  by  her  serenity 
and  poise  and  benignity,  which  never  deserted  her,  however 
freely  she  displayed  her  delight  or  engaged  in  the  simple  and 
innocent  joys  of  life. 

Mr.  Hayes  made  few  changes  in  the  domestic  force  of  the 
White  House  or  in  the  clerks  of  the  executive  office,  several  of 
whom  had  already  been  at  their  posts  since  Lincoln's  time. 
William  T.  Crump,  who  had  been  his  orderly  in  the  army,  was 
installed  as  steward;  he  was  a  faithful  and  efficient  man  and 
remained  in  the  White  House  service  for  many  years.1  His 
private  secretary  was  William  K.  Rogers,  who  had  been  his 
friend  since  early  manhood,  and  who  was  for  a  brief  period  his 
partner  in  the  first  years  of  his  law  practice  at  Cincinnati.  Mr. 
Hayes  had  wished  one  of  his  more  intimate  friends,  either 

1  Winnie  Monroe,  a  colored  woman,  who  had  long  been  a  servant  in  the  Hayes 
household,  continued  in  that  capacity  in  the  White  House.  She  was  fat,  good- 
natured,  and  efficient.  "  Both  Winnie  and  Crump  were  devoted  to  their  employ 
ers.  ...  In  my  recollection  there  never  has  been  a  time  when  the  White  House 
was  so  well  served.  It  was  such  a  glorious  period  for  Winnie  that  she  was  not  at 
all  contented,  when,  with  the  Hayes  family,  she  retired  to  Ohio  and  private  life. 
She  soon  was  back  in  Washington.  'Law.  chile,'  she  remarked  to  one  of  her  fel 
low  officials  who  had  remained  in  the  White  House  service,  '  I  cain't  stay  in  no 
Ohio  —  not  af  tah  I  been  the  f  u'st  culled  lady  in  de  Ian' ! '  .  .  .  W7hen  Winnie  died, 
not  long  afterward,  the  daughter  sent  to  General  Hayes  for  help.  The  general 
telegraphed  me  from  Ohio  to  make  all  the  necessary  funeral  arrangements  and 
send  the  bill  to  him."  (W'illiam  H.  Crook,  Through  Five  Administrations.) 


302  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

William  Henry  Smith,  former  Secretary  of  State  of  Ohio  and 
at  that  time  the  General  Agent  of  the  Western  Associated  Press, 
or  General  M.  F.  Force,  one  of  Sherman's  able  division  com 
manders,  at  that  time  a  judge  in  Cincinnati,  to  be  his  secretary; 
but  Mr.  Smith's  engagements  would  not  permit  him  to  consider 
the  question,  and  General  Force  regarded  the  position,  which 
had  usually  been  held  by  a  young  man  and  had  not  as  yet  been 
rated  either  in  salary  or  honor  at  its  intrinsic  importance,  as 
hardly  comporting  with  his  age  and  dignity.  So  the  choice  had 
fallen  on  Mr.  Rogers,  who  was  a  man  of  scholarly  tastes,  of 
pleasant  manners,  and  of  dignified  appearance,  but  who  was 
deficient  in  practical  sagacity,  inexperienced  in  public  affairs, 
and  unacquainted  with  public  men.  He  had  tried  the  ministry, 
the  law,  and  business  pursuits  without  achieving  success;  and 
always  Mr.  Hayes  had  come  to  his  rescue  when  he  was  in  straits, 
—  remaining  true  to  the  early  friendship  and  finding  pleasure  in 
his  loyalty  and  his  agreeable  personality.1  He  proved  capable 
enough  for  the  ordinary  routine  duties  of  his  post;  but  the  more 
delicate  and  difficult  functions,  which  required  quick  intuition 
of  political  forces,  knowledge  of  men,  and  apprehension  of  the 
currents  of  public  opinion,  were  quite  beyond  his  depth.  The 
result  was  that  some  misunderstandings  and  embarrassments 
came  about  in  the  relations  of  the  White  House  with  the  news 
paper  correspondents  and  with  public  men  which  a  wiser  and 
more  tactful  private  secretary  would  have  been  quick  to  fore 
stall.  The  ineffectiveness  of  Mr.  Rogers  was  in  large  measure 
offset,  however,  by  the  President's  son,  Webb,  who  acted  as 
confidential  secretary,  and  who,  young  as  he  was,  showed  such 
tact  and  good  sense  hi  the  performance  of  his  duties  as  to  win 
general  respect  and  confidence.  He  was  always  present  at 
Cabinet  meetings,  ready  to  supply  any  papers  that  might  be 
required. 
_^  The  President  was  most  methodical  in  his  habits  of  life  and 

1  "  W.  K.  Rogers,  my  old  friend,  and  with  me  as  private  secretary  during  my 
term  as  President  at  Washington.  A  man  of  fine  culture,  noble  sentiments,  a 
true  friend.  Too  guileless  for  practical  life  and  so  unselfish  and  unsuspecting  that 
his  business  ventures  have  generally  been  failures.  He  is  interested  with  me  at 
Duluth.  Hence  his  visit.  .  .  .  Rogers  left  for  home,  via  Wellington,  3  P.M.  He 
added  two  thousand  dollars  to  the  debts  for  which  I  am  his  surety."  (Diary, 
November  26,  1887.) 


LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  303 

work.  He  rose  at  seven  and  busied  himself  with  writing  until 
breakfast  was  announced,  at  half -past  eight.  Breakfast  was  fol 
lowed  by  morning  prayers.  A  chapter  of  the  Bible  was  read, 
each  person  present  reading  a  verse  in  turn,  and  then  all  knelt 
and  recited  in  unison  the  Lord's  Prayer.  Thereupon  the  Presi 
dent  went  immediately  to  his  office  and  gave  himself  to  the  dis 
patch  of  business  until  ten  o'clock.  The  next  two  hours  were 
spent  in  the  Cabinet  room  where  callers  were  received,  members 
of  Congress  having  precedence  of  all  visitors  except  Cabinet 
Ministers.  Persons  who  came  merely  to  show  respect  were  ad 
mitted  in  small  groups  from  time  to  time  and  had  to  be  content 
with  a  handshake  and  a  simple  word  of  greeting.  Tuesdays  and 
Fridays  were  the  regular  days  for  Cabinet  meeting,  which  oc 
cupied  the  time  from  twelve  to  two.  On  other  days  these  hours 
were  devoted  to  callers  who  came  to  present  all  sorts  of  questions 
of  public  business  and  official  patronage.  In  such  conferences 
the  President  constantly  surprised  the  politicians  from  remote 
parts  of  the  country  with  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  men  and 
the  political  conditions  in  their  particular  States.  While  in 
variably  courteous  he  knew  how  to  terminate  an  interview  when 
he  chose,  and  his  usually  mild  voice  could  on  occasion  assume 
notes  of  sternness  and  decisiveness  which  awed  the  importunate 
or  aggressive  visitor  and  sent  him  away,  if  not  satisfied  or 
convinced,  at  least  with  heightened  respect  for  the  President's 
dignity  and  power. 

The  Cabinet  discussions  were  conducted  in  the  most  informal 
way,1  each  member  freely  expressing  his  judgment  or  urging  his 

1  "The  members  of  the  Cabinet  drop  in  one  by  one,  but  they  are  all  on  hand 
by  twelve  o'clock.  Each  member  brings  his  portfolio.  The  President  sits  at  the 
head  of  the  table  and  Secretary  Schurz  at  the  foot;  on  the  right  next  to  the  Presi 
dent  is  the  Secretary  of  State,  next  to  him  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  beyond  him 
the  Postmaster-General.  On  the  left  next  to  the  President  sits  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  and  next  to  him  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  next  to  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Interior  on  that  side,  the  Attorney-General.  After  the  Cabinet  meets 
it  is  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  before  the  members  get  to  work.  That  ten  minutes  is 
taken  up  in  greetings  and  offhand  talk,  in  which  the  spirit  of  fun  and  humor  crops 
out  a  good  deal.  The  Cabinet  are  all  men  with  a  sunny,  fun-loving  side  when  out 
of  official  harness.  Judge  Key  is,  perhaps,  the  jolliest,  though  the  Attorney- 
General  pushes  him  hard  for  that  distinction.  Secretary  Thompson  is  a  proverbial 
lover  of  a  pleasant  joke,  while  Secretary  Schurz  is  hardly  equalled  in  telling  one. 
Secretary  McCrary  is  a  good  story-teller.  Secretary  Sherman  does  not  indulge  in 
humor  often,  but  when  he  does,  it  is,  on  account  of  its  unexpected  character,  the 


304  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

views  on  any  question  of  public  policy  or  governmental  action 
that  was  propounded.  On  no  occasion,  whatever  differences  of 
opinion  appeared  in  the  Cabinet  debates,  did  acrimonious  dis 
putes  arise.  The  members  were  not  in  every  instance  completely 
at  one  in  approving  the  policy  or  action  that  seemed  wisest  to 
the  President.  But  on  all  the  great  questions  that  came  in 
controversy,  the  President's  judgment,  when  finally  determined, 
commanded  the  support  of  either  all  or  a  decided  majority  of 
his  ministers. 

At  two  o'clock  luncheon  was  served;  a  simple  meal  of  bread 
and  butter,  tea,  and  cold  meats.  Usually  the  President  invited 
some  visitor  with  whom  he  desired  a  longer  conference  than  the 
business  hours  afforded  to  share  the  meal  with  him;  though 
affairs  of  state  were  not  allowed  to  absorb  the  attention  to  the 
exclusion  of  topics  of  general  interest.  The  luncheon  was  so 
informal  that  it  was  always  an  occasion  for  the  cheerful  inter 
change  of  views  on  whatever  topics  were  uppermost  in  the 
thought  and  discussions  of  the  day. 

After  luncheon  the  President  began  the  examination  of  the 
correspondence  of  the  day.  An  index  of  all  the  letters  received 
was  submitted  to  him,  giving  a  brief  epitome  of  the  purport  of 
each.  He  checked  off  such  as  he  desired  to  read,  and  these  were 
laid  before  him,  each  letter  in  a  separate  long  envelope  on  which 
was  written  in  clerkly  hand  the  name  of  the  sender  and  a  con 
cise  statement  of  its  subject.  The  President  seldom  dictated 
letters  to  a  stenographer.  He  wrote  many  letters,  most  of  them 
short,  with  his  own  hand,  rarely  retaining  copies.  In  the  case  of 

more  enjoyable.  Secretary  Evarts  is  one  of  those  of  the  quietly  humorous  sort. 
His  fund  of  dry  humor  and  wit  is  inexhaustible,  and  though  not  uproarious  is 
keenly  enjoyable.  The  President  has  probably  the  heartiest  Cabinet  that  any 
President  ever  assembled  around  him.  The  old  bores  who  keep  at  them  day  by 
day  are  unmercifully  dealt  with  by  the  heads  of  the  departments  when  they 
assemble.  The  Attorney-General  seems  to  take  a  peculiar  delight  in  joking  Sec 
retary  Thompson.  At  a  recent  Cabinet  meeting  the  Naval  Secretary  took  with 
him  a  list  of  midshipmen  who  had  passed  their  examinations.  The  Secretary 
called  attention  to  them  and  said  he  would  like  that  their  nominations  for  pro 
motion  to  ensigns  be  sent  to  the  Senate  as  soon  as  possible, 'as  they  are  worthy 
young  men  who  have  thoroughly  earned  their  spurs.'  'Mr.  Thompson,'  inter 
rupted  Mr.  Devens,  'how  long  since  have  they  been  wearing  spurs  in  the  navy?' 
After  this  ten  minutes'  of  boy  play  before  school,  the  President  calls  the  meeting 
to  order.  The  regular  business  is  taken  up,  the  Secretary  of  State  leading  off  with 
his  budget."  (Washington  Star,  July  14,  1879.) 


LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  305 

most  of  the  innumerable  communications  he  received  that  de 
manded  more  than  a  mere  acknowledgment,  he  would  indicate 
briefly  to  one  of  his  secretaries  the  nature  of  the  response  to  be 
made  and  leave  it  to  him  to  give  the  reply  proper  expression. 
At  half-past  three  the  President  would  go  for  a  drive,  accom 
panied  by  some  member  of  the  household  or  some  friend,  which 
would  last  until  five  o'clock.  Then  he  gave  a  few  minutes  more 
to  his  correspondence,  took  a  brief  nap  and  dressed  for  dinner; 
at  which  nearly  always  guests  were  present.  The  evening  until 
bedtime,  at  eleven  o'clock  or  later,  was  occupied  with  callers 
who  came  by  appointment  to  discuss  important  matters  of 
public  concern.  By  the  time  the  last  caller  left  the  President  was 
weary  in  body  and  mind  from  the  long  hours  of  almost  incessant 
devotion  to  the  never-ending  variety  of  questions  that  require 
the  attention  and  decision  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  a  great 
nation.  Then,  before  retiring,  as  had  been  his  custom  at  Co 
lumbus,  he  took  a  short  walk,  often  calling  on  Mr.  Evarts,  or 
Chief  Justice  Waite,  or  some  other  close  friend. 

The  President  usually  slept  well.  Even  after  days  of  assidu 
ous  endeavor  and  when  most  worried  with  pressing  cares  and 
responsibilities,  he  was  able  with  the  exercise  of  his  disciplined 
will  power  to  throw  off  the  vexations  of  the  day  and  quickly  to 
find  repose.  He  kept  his  health  in  almost  perfect  condition  dur 
ing  his  entire  term  by  conscientious  gymnastic  exercise  every 
morning  on  arising  from  bed,  by  walking  rapidly  a  few  minutes 
after  each  meal  through  the  lower  hall  and  conservatory,  and  by 
moderation  in  his  diet.  He  drank  a  single  cup  of  coffee  at  break 
fast  and  one  cup  of  tea  at  luncheon.  Nothing  else  in  the  nature 
of  a  stimulant  passed  his  lips.  Tobacco  in  any  form  he  had  never 
used.  While  he  had  not  all  his  life  been  a  total  abstainer  from 
alcoholic  beverages,  he  had  always  been  strictly  temperate,  only 
occasionally  enjoying  with  friends  a  glass  of  Rhine  wine  or  some 
thing  of  its  quality.  But  shortly  after  entering  the  White  House 
he  became  convinced  that  for  Americans,  at  least,  the  only 
safety  lay  in  total  abstinence,  and  from  that  time  on  to  the  end 
of  his  life  he  consistently  put  his  conviction  in  practice.  His 
splendid  vigor,  his  capacity  for  work,  his  resiliency  after  long 
strain  and  periods  of  unremitting  effort,  were  a  constant  and 
striking  argument  for  the  temperance  cause. 


306  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

While  the  President  was  busy  in  his  office  with  his  evening 
callers,  Mrs.  Hayes  and  her  house  guests  were  at  home  in  the 
parlors  below,  ready  to  welcome  any  visitors  that  presented 
themselves.1  The  rooms  were  made  attractive  with  potted 
plants  and  a  profusion  of  cut  flowers  from  the  conservatory,  to 
the  care  and  arrangement  of  which  Mrs.  Hayes  gave  personal 
attention.  Often  there  was  music  and  singing  when  famous 
artists  were  at  the  Capital.  Usually  the  callers  were  numerous, 
made  up  alike  of  people  in  the  official  and  social  life  of  Washing 
ton  and  of  persons  from  other  parts  of  the  country  who  hap 
pened  to  be  in  the  city.  The  members  of  the  Cabinet  and  their 
families,  Vice-President  Wheeler,  who  became  devotedly  at 
tached  to  the  Hayes  household,2  General  Sherman,  Chief  Justice 
Waite,  George  Bancroft,  and  many  other  distinguished  per 
sonages  were  frequent  callers.  All,  whether  well  known  or  ob 
scure,  were  sure  of  a  kindly  greeting  from  Mrs.  Hayes  and  were 
instantly  made  to  feel  at  ease  with  themselves  and  their  sur 
roundings.3  Mrs.  Hayes  possessed  a  positive  genius  for  making 

1  The  editor  of  the  Iowa  State  Register,  writing  to  his  paper  from  Washington 
in  December,  1877,  said:  "Visitors  come  and  go  to  the  Executive  Mansion  with 
welcome  and  freedom,  and  the  lady  of  good  heart  who  is  mistress  there  finds  more 
delight  in  doing  a  kind  deed  than  in  receiving  high  honor.  Every  evening  she  has 
receptions,  or  rather  is  ready  every  evening  to  see  all  who  may  call  upon  her. 
Already  her  kindness  is  widely  known,  and  many  wounded  hearts  go  to  her  for 
comfort  and  are  soothed.  Who  shall  say  that  such  a  woman  is  not  of  value  beyond 
rubies  and  all  riches?" 

2  Mr.  Hayes's  estimate  of  Mr.  Wheeler  is  given  briefly  in  his  diary  at  the  time 
of  Mr.  Wheeler's  death:  "The  news  of  Mr.  WTieeler's  near  approach  to  his  end 
seems  to  be  confirmed.  To  use  his  own  phrases,  he  was  'a  rare  man';  'every  fibre 
of  his  nature'  was  sound  and  true.   He  was  one  of  the  few  Vice-Presidents  who 
was  on  cordial  terms  —  intimately  and  sincerely  friendly  —  with  the  President. 
Our  family  all  were  heartily  fond  of  him.  He  came  often  to  the  White  House,  and 
often  expressed  in  strong  language  the  pleasure  his  visits  gave  him.  In  character 
he  was  sterling  gold."   (Diary,  June  3,  1887.) 

"Mr.  Wheeler,  ex- Vice-President,  died  this  morning  of  softening  of  the  brain. 
One  of  the  excellent  examples  of  a  New  England  man  of  ability  and  character, 
who  by  sheer  force  of  perseverance,  integrity,  and  good  conduct  rose  from  poverty 
to  independence  and  honorable  place.  ...  I  will  start  for  his  home  in  northeastern 
New  York  at  Malone  to-morrow  evening,  via  Syracuse  and  Ogdensburg." 
(Diary,  June  4,  1887.) 

3  "  Mrs.  Hayes  has  a  remarkable  memory  for  faces,  for  names  and  incidents, 
and  there  is  a  certain  empressement  in  her  way  most  gratifying  to  strangers  and 
casual  acquaintances  —  it  reassures  the  timid  and  puts  at  ease  the  embarrassed. 
'Her  smile,'  now  a  hackneyed  theme,  on  which  all  the  terms  in  the  Thesaurus 
have  been  brought  to  bear,  is  not  a  set  smile  of  which  one  would  soon  tire,  —  not 


RUTHERFORD  15.  HAYES 
From  Portrait  painted  for  the  White  House  by  Daniel  Huntington 


LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  307 

people  about  her  happy.  When  she  was  in  a  group  there  were 
no  embarrassing  silences.  Her  social  tact,  her  quick  intuition, 
her  unaffected  kindness  of  heart,  and  interest  in  others'  pursuits, 
and  her  brightness  and  charm  of  conversation  captivated  all 
who  came  within  the  sphere  of  her  influence.1  In  the  most  easy 
and  natural  manner  she  would  move  about  the  rooms  from  one 
group  or  guest  to  another  so  as  to  make  sure  that  no  one  should 
feel  neglected  or  be  left  long  stranded  in  difficult  or  uncongenial 
company.  Whenever  it  was  possible  for  the  President  to  escape 
from  his  desk,  he  would  descend  the  stairs  and  find  relaxation 
by  mingling  among  the  callers  and  joining  freely  in  the  conver 
sation.2  These  quite  informal  evening  gatherings,  where  all  was 
bright  and  cheerful  and  of  good  report,  became  the  distinctive 

the  meaningless  grin  you  might  suppose,  —  but  a  smile  that  comes  and  goes,  and 
illuminates  her  face  with  an  expression  of  pleasure,  sympathy,  kindness,  gracious- 
ness,  dignity,  or  gratification,  as  the  appearance  or  way  of  the  person  to  whom 
she  gives  it  calls  forth."  (Washington  correspondence  Cincinnati  Enquirer,  Jan 
uary  13,  1879.) 

1  The  Reverend  Dr.  J.  O.  Clark  of  Macon,  Georgia,  writing  to  his  wife,  from 
Baltimore,  June  25,  1878,  of  a  visit  at  the  White  House,  said:  "Coming  into  the 
room  with  a  pleasant  smile,  she  [Mrs.  Hayes]  introduced  herself  with  an  ease  and 
grace  which  made  me  feel  perfectly  at  home  in  her  company.    In  a  few  moments 
we  were  talking  as  if  we  had  known  each  other  for  years.  Her  manners  are  charm 
ing,  characterized  by  great  simplicity  and  the  absence  of  all  affectation.  She  is 
not  beautiful,  and  yet  she  is  beautiful,  for  her  face  mirrors  the  pure  soul  within. 
This  lady  captivates  all  whom  she  meets;  and  this  she  does  without  art.  In  her 
presence  the  conviction  is  irresistible  that  you  are  conversing  with  a  true  woman 
—  an  Israelite,  indeed,  in  whom  there  is  no  guile,  and  in  whom  the  gentlest  and 
noblest  Christian  graces  are  happily  blended  in  associated  beauty.  You  feel  that 
you  are  with  a  true  wife  and  mother,  as  well  as  with  a  lady  of  exalted  rank  and 
dignity.  In  social  life,  as  the  wife  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  nation,  her  posi 
tion  is  the  highest  in  the  land.  And  right  well  and  nobly  does  she  fill  it.  But  this 
she  impresses  upon  you,  not  by  any  stateliness  of  manner,  not  by  any  assumed  air 
of  superiority  so  common  to  many  of  exalted  rank  and  dignity;  but  by  her  affa 
bility,  her  gentleness,  and  the  unstudied  ease  with  which  she  receives  all  visitors. 
And  this  is  the  unanimous  testimony  of  all  who  have  met  her,  whether  friends  or 
foes  of  the  Administration  of  her  husband." 

2  The  Washington  correspondent  of  the  Philadelphia  Times,  which  was  far 
from  friendly  to  the  President,  writing  to  his  paper  in  November,  1877,  uses  this 
language:  "The  White  House  and  its  inmates  are  exceedingly  popular.   There 
is  a  refreshing  absence  of  pretension  and  formality.    The  President  and  his  wife 
have  courteous,  cordial  manners,  which  spring  from  kindness  of  heart.  They  are 
quick  and  ready  in  conversation,  so  that  there  are  no  awkward  pauses.   They  are 
not  afraid  to  converse  freely,  and  do  not  appear  to  put  any  restraint  upon  their 
utterances,  as  though  they  feared  misrepresentation.  This,  too,  is  a  contrast  to 
the  last  regime." 


308  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

social  feature  of  Mrs.  Hayes's  regime  at  the  White  House.  There 
had  been  nothing  to  compare  with  her  social  grace  and  influence 
and  esteem  since  the  time  when  the  famous  and  accomplished 
Dolly  Madison  had  won  the  allegiance  of  all  hearts.  Thomas 
Wentworth  Higginson,  whose  judgment  even  the  most  censo 
rious  would  hesitate  to  impeach,  believed  "that  American  man 
ners  of  the  best  type  are  the  best  in  the  world,  because  they 
are  the  nearest  to  'kind  nature'";  the  last  words  being  an  allu 
sion  to  Tennyson's  declaration  in  "Walking  to  the  Mail."  And 
it  was  such  manners,  he  declared,  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  ex 
emplified  in  the  White  House  —  manners  whose  foundation  was 
laid  in  conscience  and  religious  sentiment  "without  narrowness 
or  bigotry." 

Sunday  afternoon  the  President  habitually  went  for  a  long 
drive  into  the  country  with  Secretary  Sherman,  who  throughout 
his  Administration  was  his  most  intimate  counsellor  and  con 
fidant.  Together  on  these  occasions  they  discussed  all  questions 
of  administrative  policy,  canvassed  the  varying  phases  of  politi 
cal  activity  and  of  party  fortunes,  and  strengthened  each  other 
for  the  immediate  duties  that  confronted  them.  In  the  trying 
times  of  the  first  months  of  the  Administration,  when  the  hos 
tility  or  antagonism  of  Republican  leaders  to  the  President's 
action  in  the  South,  to  his  civil  service  reform  principles,  and  to 
his  financial  policy,  was  most  active  and  most  outspoken,  these 
quiet  Sunday  afternoon  conferences,  in  the  open  air,  along  the 
highways,  with  the  dome  of  the  Capitol  rising  pure  and  majestic 
on  the  far  horizon,  abiding  contrast  to  the  petty  contentions  of 
the  hour,  were  to  the  President  a  source  of  inestimable  refresh 
ment  and  encouragement  in  pursuing  the  courses  he  had  marked 
out  for  himself. 

Mr.  Hayes  gave  ample  time  and  care  to  the  preparation  of  his 
state  papers  and  set  speeches.  Not  infrequently  he  began  early 
to  jot  down  in  his  diary  the  ideas  that  he  proposed  to  elaborate. 
When  he  came  to  the  task  of  writing  he  had  thought  out  his  sub 
ject  so  clearly  in  his  mind  that  the  words  flowed  rapidly  from 
his  pen,  on  whatever  paper  lay  at  hand.  He  revised  carefully, 
his  manuscripts  showing  frequent  erasures,  interlineations,  and 
changes  of  expression  in  the  interest  of  clearness  and  precision; 
often  whole  paragraphs  were  recast  to  give  them  better  form  or 


LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  309 

apter  expression.  When  he  was  satisfied  with  his  production,  it 
was  copied  by  one  of  the  secretaries  and  put  in  type  by  the  public 
printer.  Then  the  proof-slips  were  subjected  by  the  President  to 
the  most  painstaking  scrutiny,  resulting  in  still  further  improve 
ments  and  modifications,  not  so  much  for  the  betterment  of 
style  as  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  the  meaning  precise  and 
unmistakable.  "I  have  not  in  such  work,"  Mr.  Hayes  writes  in 
his  diary  (May  25,  1879),  "been  careful  as  to  style,  except  to 
have  my  papers  state  principles  in  a  way  to  satisfy  men  of  ability 
and  culture  that  the  statement  is  sound,  and  to  so  phrase  and 
put  my  propositions  that  the  plain  people  can  readily  under 
stand  them."  As  is  almost  sure  to  be  the  case,  clear  thinking 
with  him  led  to  clear  writing;  and,  whenever  questions  of 
principle  were  involved,  his  earnest  convictions  were  reflected 
in  the  vigor  and  penetration  of  his  language. 

The  President  and  his  household  were  regular  attendants 
Sundays  on  divine  service.  Mrs.  Hayes  was  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Communion.  The  great  and  fashionable 
Metropolitan  Church  of  that  denomination,  which  President 
and  Mrs.  Grant  had  frequented,  had  hoped  to  continue  to  be 
known  as  the  Presidential  church.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes,  how 
ever,  with  their  instinctive  aversion  to  display,  walked  unob 
served,  on  their  first  Sunday  in  Washington,  to  the  nearest 
Methodist  church  —  the  comparatively  obscure  Foundry 
Church  —  and  made  that  their  church  home  throughout  their 
stay  in  Washington;  contributing  liberally  to  its  support  and  to 
all  the  causes  in  which  it  was  interested.  And  in  spite  of  all  the 
exactions  that  her  position  and  constantly  increasing  popularity 
made  upon  her  time  and  strength,  Mrs.  Hayes  persistently  exer 
cised  the  habits  of  benevolence  and  charity  which  had  char 
acterized  her  life  in  Ohio,  alike  in  private  and  public  station. 
Many  a  needy  family  in  Washington  had  reasons  for  gratitude 
to  the  gracious  mistress  of  the  White  House  who  had  minis 
tered  to  its  necessities;  and  innumerable  sick  chambers  were 
brightened  with  flowers  from  the  White  House  conservatory. 
Especially  assiduous  were  Mrs.  Hayes's  ministrations  to  the 
distresses  of  any  old  soldier  or  of  those  dependent  on  him.1 

1  Mrs.  Hayes  was  never  afraid  her  dignity  would  suffer  when  chance  for  a  kind 
act  offered.  One  day  Sir  Edward  Thornton,  the  British  Minister,  with  some 


310  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

Sunday  evening  at  the  White  House  had  a  character  quite  its 
own.  Intimate  friends  were  invited  to  participate  in  the  family 
dinner,  and  others  would  join  the  group  later  for  an  hour  of  so 
cial  intercourse  and  music  in  one  of  the  parlors.  Hymn-books 
were  distributed,  and  with  some  one  at  the  piano,  one  favorite 
hymn  after  another  would  be  sung.  Mrs.  Hayes  herself  pos 
sessed  a  sympathetic  contralto  voice,  and  sang  with  a  joy  and 
enthusiasm  which  quickly  affected  all  who  were  present  and 
brought  them  into  the  spirit  of  the  service.  By  the  time  the 
singing  was  over  all  were  at  perfect  ease  with  one  another,  and 
general  conversation  flowed  on  without  constraint,  but  mel 
lowed  and  softened  by  reason  of  the  recent  mingling  of  voices  in 
songs  of  spiritual  import.  After  such  an  evening  the  guests, 
however  important  posts  in  public  affairs  they  might  hold,  left 
the  White  House  with  the  feeling  that,  after  all,  there  were 
tilings  in  life  to  interest  the  human  spirit  and  to  demand  its 
allegiance  other  than  engrossing  questions  of  statecraft  or 
party  control.1 

English  friends,  called  at  the  White  House.  As  the  visitors  entered  the  Blue 
Room,  what  was  their  surprise  to  see  Mrs.  Hayes  sitting  on  the  floor,  needle  and 
thread  in  hand,  while  before  her,  half  reclining  on  the  central  divan,  sat  an  old 
ordnance-sergeant.  The  callers  were  about  to  retire,  when  Mrs.  Hayes  looked  up 
and  laughingly  bade  them  stay.  She  rose  from  the  floor,  shook  hands  warmly 
with  the  veteran,  and,  parrying  his  thanks,  assured  him  that  his  uniform  was  now 
perfect.  The  incident  was  characteristic  of  her  instant  and  self -forgetful  kindness. 
One  of  her  sons  some  time  before  had  discovered  at  the  Soldiers'  Home  a  veteran 
of  the  battle  of  Fort  Stephenson  (at  Fremont),  in  the  War  of  1812,  named  William 
Gaines.  Subsequently  Gaines  received  a  pension  for  his  services  in  the  War  of 
1812  and  in  the  Mexican  War,  and  a  complete  full-dress  uniform  was  ordered 
sent  to  the  White  House  for  him.  He  was  brought  in  from  the  Soldiers'  Home 
that  day  to  don  his  uniform  and  to  be  photographed.  Having  put  on  the  uniform, 
Gaines  discovered  that  the  sergeant's  stripes  for  the  trouser  seams  had  been  sent 
loose  to  be  used  at  the  wearer's  discretion.  He  was  greatly  distressed  at  the 
thought  of  being  photographed  without  these  stripes.  Mrs.  Hayes,  who  had  come 
down  to  greet  him  in  the  Blue  Room,  at  once  sent  for  needle  and  thread,  that  she 
might  herself  stitch  them  on.  She  was  just  finishing  the  task  when  the  British 
Minister  and  his  guests  entered,  and  saw  the  Mistress  of  the  White  House  in  so 
unusual  a  posture.  When  they  heard  the  story  of  the  old  veteran,  they  only 
admired  Mrs.  Hayes  the  more. 

1  The  editor  of  the  Pittsburg  Christian  Advocate  was  present  at  one  of  these 
Sunday  evenings  in  the  winter  of  1878,  and  wrote  of  it  in  his  paper.  Among  the 
guests  were  "the  Vice-President,  General  Sherman  and  daughter,  Secretary 
Schurz,  Attorney-General  Devens,  Senator  Ferry,  General  Hastings,  Congress 
man  McKinley,  Assistant  Surgeon-General  Wroodward  and  wife,  and  Mr.  Dick 
inson,  private  secretary  of  the  Vice-President.  Mrs.  Woodward  takes  the  piano, 


LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  311 

Every  Thanksgiving  Day  all  the  secretaries  and  clerks  of  the 
White  House  with  their  wives  and  children  were  invited  to  share 
the  old-fashioned  family  dinner;  and  on  Christmas  Day  they 
were  again  at  the  White  House,  when  each  and  every  one  of  the 
household  received  a  present  from  Mrs.  Hayes.1 

Besides  the  continuous  exercise  of  informal  hospitality  and  the 
constant  entertainment  of  special  guests,  invited  to  spend  days 
or  weeks  in  the  White  House,  there  were,  of  course,  the  formal 
state  dinners  and  the  great  ceremonious  receptions  which  have 
come  to  be  established  functions  of  the  social  life  of  the  White 
House.  About  these  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak  in  detail,  for 
their  characteristics  have  often  been  described  and  they  are 
much  alike,  whoever  is  the  occupant  of  the  Executive  Mansion. 
It  was  the  contemporary  judgment  of  persons  of  long  experience 
and  observation  of  Washington  social  life  that  never  had  more 
sumptuous  dinners  of  state  or  more  brilliant  and  better  ordered 
receptions  been  given  in  the  White  House  than  while  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hayes  presided  over  its  destinies.2  One  feature  of  these 

and  the  first  hymn  sung  is  '  Jesus,  Lover  of  my  Soul,'  followed  by  '  Majestic  sweet 
ness  sits  enthroned,'  'Jesus,  let  thy  pitying  eye,'  'My  days  are  gliding  swiftly 
by,'  'Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee,'  'Tell  methe  old,  old  story.'  The  singing  of  such 
hymns  filled  up  the  hour,  closing  with 

'Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds 
Our  hearts  in  Christian  love.' 

A  season  of  genial  conversation,  and  the  company  breaks  up.  No  cant,  no  as 
sumed  solemnity,  marred  the  hour.  It  was  a  time  of  Christian  cheerfulness. 
Nothing  was  more  pleasing  than  to  see  General  Sherman,  the  hero  of  so  many 
battles,  join  with  evident  relish  in  the  exercises  of  the  evening." 

1  "  Sometimes  she  bought  the  presents  herself,  in  which  case  she  would  be  at 
work  for  weeks  beforehand.  Sometimes,  when  she  was  rushed,  she  commissioned 
Webb  Hayes  and  me  to  buy  them.  At  those  times  there  would  be  a  card  for  each 
one,  to  give  the  more  personal  touch.   At  about  noon  on  Christmas  Day  every 
one  was  called  into  the  library.  There,  in  a  heap  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  were  the 
presents.  Beside  them  waited  President  and  Mrs.  Hayes,  and  little  Miss  Fanny 
and  Scott  waited  'first  on  one  foot  and  then  on  t'other'  for  the  festivities  to 
begin.  The  President  or  his  wife  read  out  the  names  and  picked  out  the  presents, 
and  the  two  children  danced  about  distributing  them."   ( William  H.  Crook,  ubi 
supra.} 

2  For  example,  the  Washington  Star  of  January  16, 1878,  reported:  "The  first 
public  reception  the  President  has  held  in  the  evening  since  his  inauguration  was 
one  of  the  pleasantest  in  the  annals  of  the  White  House.  While  the  parlors  were 
well  filled,  there  was  no  such  crush  as  so  often  destroys  all  the  pleasure  of  these 
soirees.  Mr.  Webb  Hayes  made  the  introductions  to  his  father  and  Colonel  Casey 
to  Mrs.  Hayes,  who  was  looking  especially  pretty  in  a  polonaise  of  white  gaze  de 
Chamb&ry  over  a  trained  skirt  of  white  silk  trimmed  with  the  same  material.  The 


312  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

entertainments,  and,  indeed,  of  all  White  House  entertainments 
during  Mr.  Hayes's  Administration,  was  distinctive  and  unique 
in  the  history  of  the  Republic,  until  it  was  reestablished  by 
President  Wilson.  And  that  was  that  no  wine  or  other  alco 
holic  beverage  was  ever  served.1  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  had 

waist  was  high  and  the  front  filled  in  with  white  tulle.  Miss  Foote,  Miss  Platt, 
and  Miss  [Allie]  Smith  [daughter  of  William  Henry  Smith],  the  latter  a  recent  and 
very  attractive  addition  to  the  White  House  circle,  were  in  the  back  part  of  the 
room,  moving  from  one  to  another  of  the  guests,  exchanging  pleasant  greetings 
and  engaging  in  merry  conversation.  They  made  the  reception  resemble  more  an 
entertainment  in  a  private  house  than  a  stiff  and  formal  state  occasion." 

"Last  evening  we  had  a  new  sort  of  gathering  at  the  White  House;  an  official 
entertainment  of  the  diplomatic  corps.  Guests  invited  and  refreshments.  .  .  . 
The  only  private  citizen  invited  was  Mr.  Corcoran.  Mr.  Bancroft  spoke  warmly 
about  it;  said  it  was  the  finest  affair  ever  had  in  the  White  House.  Many  others 
talked  in  a  similar  strain.  It  was,  no  doubt,  a  successful  and  enjoyable  affair. 
Lucy  and  I  received  and  shook  hands  with  the  stream  of  people  about  two  hours 
as  they  were  coming  in,  and,  after  a  few  minutes'  promenading,  —  I  with  Mrs. 
McKinley,  Lucy  with  Mr.  George  Bancroft,  the  venerable  historian,  —  we  again 
took  our  places  in  the  East  Room  fronting  the  main  entrance  and  a  little  back 
of  the  central  chandelier  and  again  shook  hands  for  an  hour  with  the  departing 
guests.  We  did  not  enter  the  dining-rooms  until  after  eleven,  when  the  affair  was 
happily  over."  (Diary,  February  26,  1879.) 

"  Our  party  to  the  diplomatic  corps  was  all  that  could  be  desired.  One  mistake 
was  made.  We  did  not  include  among 'officials'  the  reporters  —  the  gentlemen 
of  the  press.  Strictly,  they  are  not  officials.  But  their  connection  with  Congress 
is  so  intimate  and  important  that  they  might  properly  be  included  with  the  offi 
cers  of  Congress.  Nothing  sinister  was  intended.  It  was  not  considered.  But  it 
has  [caused]  great  irritation  and  accounts  of  the  affair  corresponding  with  the 
feelings  of  the  writers  have  been  sent  out."  (Diary,  February  28,  1879.) 

1  The  only  exception  to  this  rule  was  at  the  diplomatic  state  dinner,  given 
April  19,  1877,  in  honor  of  the  Russian  Grand  Dukes,  Alexis  and  Constantin, 
when  the  long-established  precedent  was  followed.  It  was  soon  after  this  dinner 
that  the  public  came  to  understand  that  at  no  future  entertainment,  while  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hayes  presided  at  the  White  House,  should  wine  be  served. 

Ben:  Perley  Poore,  a  famous  Washington  correspondent  of  the  last  generation, 
says  in  his  Reminiscences  (vol.  n,  chap,  xxxi) :  "All  of  the  state  dinners  while  she 
[Mrs.  Hayes]  presided  over  the  hospitalities  of  the  W'hite  House  were  ostensibly 
strictly  temperance  banquets,  although  the  steward  managed  to  gratify  those 
fond  of  something  stronger  than  lemonade.  True,  no  wine  glasses  obtruded  them 
selves,  no  popping  of  champagne  corks  was  heard,  no  odor  of  liquor  tainted  the 
air  fragrant  with  the  perfume  of  innocent,  beautiful  flowers.  The  table  groaned 
with  delicacies;  there  were  many  devices  of  the  confectioner  which  called  forth 
admiration.  Many  wondered  why  oranges  seemed  to  be  altogether  preferred, 
and  the  waiters  were  kept  busy  replenishing  salvers  upon  which  the  tropical  fruit 
lay.  Glances  telegraphed  to  one  another  that  the  missing  link  was  found,  and 
that,  concealed  within  the  oranges,  was  delicious  frozen  punch,  a  large  ingredient 
of  which  was  strong  old  Santa  Croix  rum.  Thenceforth  (without  the  knowledge 
of  Mrs.  Hayes,  of  course)  Roman  punch  was  served  about  the  middle  of  the  state 


LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  313 

strong  convictions  on  this  subject.  They  could  see  no  sufficient 
reason  why  they  should  abandon  the  custom  and  habit  of  a  life 
time  when  the  White  House  became  their  home.  They  had  never 
served  wine  at  their  table,  and  they  were  conscientiously  opposed 
to  its  habitual  use  and  to  placing  temptation  in  the  way  of 
others.  They  did  not  wish  their  family  life  in  the  White  House 
to  be  different  from  what  it  had  always  been.  Moreover,  they 
knew  what  was  going  on  in  high  society  at  the  Capital;  and  they 
believed  that  the  example  of  abstinence  set  by  the  White  House 
would  not  only  be  right  in  itself,  but  would  have  wide  influence 
in  discouraging  and  discountenancing  the  growing  fashion  of  the 
lavish  use  of  intoxicants  in  social  entertainment.1 

dinners,  care  being  taken  to  give  the  glasses  containing  the  strongest  mixture  to 
those  who  were  longing  for  some  potent  beverage.  This  phase  of  the  dinner  was 
named  by  those  who  enjoyed  it  'the  Life-Saving  Station.'"  — This  story  con 
stantly  reappears  in  the  public  prints.  Mr.  Hayes's  comment  on  it  in  his  diary 
(January  10,  1887)  should  therefore  be  given:  "Also  received,  and  read  parts  of, 
the  two  volumes  of  Ben:  Perley  Poore's  Reminiscences.  In  the  main  fair  to  Lucy 
and  myself.  The  joke  of  the  Roman  punch  oranges  was  not  on  us,  but  on  the 
drinking  people.  My  orders  were  to  flavor  them  rather  strongly  with  the  same 
flavor  that  is  found  in  Jamaica  rum.  This  took!  There  was  not  a  drop  of  spirits  in 
them!  This  was  certainly  the  case  after  the  facts  alluded  to  reached  our  ears.  It 
was  refreshing  to  hear  '  the  drinkers '  say  with  a  smack  of  the  lips,  '  Would  they 
were  hot!'" 

1  "  It  is  said  General  Garfield  will  restore  wine  and  liquors  to  the  White  House. 
I  hope  this  is  a  mistake.  I  am  no  fanatic  on  this  subject.  I  do  not  sympathize 
with  the  methods  of  the  ultra  temperance  people.  I  believe  that  the  cause  of  tem 
perance  will  be  most  surely  promoted  by  moral,  religious,  and  educational  influ 
ences,  and  by  the  influence  of  example.  I  would  not  use  the  force  of  law  as  an 
agency  for  temperance  reform.  If  laws  on  the  subject  are  enacted,  let  them  be 
for  the  security  of  the  community  —  to  protect  the  public  from  nuisances  and 
crime.  Let  the  temperance  reformer  keep  to  the  text  —  influence,  argument, 
persuasion,  example. 

"When  we  came  here  we  banished  liquors  from  the  house  — 

"1.  Because  it  was  right,  wise,  and  necessary. 

"  2.  Because  it  was  due  to  the  large  support  given  me  by  the  sincere  friends  of 
the  temperance  reform. 

"3.  Because  I  believed  that  it  would  strengthen  the  Republican  party  by  de 
taching  from  the  political  temperance  party  many  good  people  who  would  join 
the  Republican  party,  and  would  save  to  the  Republican  party  many  who  would 
otherwise  leave  it  to  join  the  temperance  party. 

"If  General  Garfield  rejects  the  practice  I  have  inaugurated,  he  will  offend 
thousands,  and  drive  them  into  the  hands  of  the  temperance  demagogues.  He  will 
lose  the  confidence  of  thousands  of  good  citizens'and  gain  no  strength  in  any  quar 
ter.  His  course  will  be  taken  as  evidence  that  he  lacks  the  grit  to  face  fashionable 
ridicule.  Nothing  hurts  a  man  more  than  a  general  belief  that  he  lacks  '  the  cour 
age  of  his  convictions.'"  (Diary,  January  16,  1881.) 


314  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

There  was  much  criticism  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  at  the  time 
for  their  course  in  this  matter,  a  good  deal  of  it  brutal  and  malig 
nant.  They  were  charged  with  displaying  a  narrow,  provincial, 
and  puritanic  spirit,  —  by  some  gross-minded  critics  even  with 
parsimony,1  —  which  was  unbecoming  to  persons  in  their  exalted 

1  Apropos  of  this  the  following  letter  is  interesting:  — 

SPIEGEL  GROVE, 
FREMONT,  March  10,  1891. 

MY  DEAR  THOMAS,  —  I  received  from  you  or  some  other  friend  a  "Washington 
letter  to  Philadelphia  Press"  on  the  President's  expenses.  It  is  carefully  written 
and  seems  to  be  trustworthy.  So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  it  is  in  a  good  spirit,  but 
is  totally  misinformed  as  to  the  result. 

The  truth  is  that  having  been  adopted  by  my  Uncle  Birchard  when  quite  young, 
as  he  had  been  adopted  by  my  father  when  left  an  orphan  as  I  was,  I  never  was 
under  the  necessity  to  study  economy.  He  required  me  at  school  to  keep  an 
account  of  my  expenses,  and  occasionally  examined  it.  But  he  never,  that  I 
recall,  found  fault  with  me  on  the  score  of  extravagance.  I  never  received  in  any 
office  more  than  I  expended.  Rarely,  as  much.  Possibly  in  the  City  Solicitor's 
office  of  Cincinnati  I  received  as  much  as  I  spent,  and  about  as  much  in  the 
Presidency.  As  Governor  and  as  member  of  Congress,  and  in  the  army  I  always 
spent  more  than  I  received.  My  habits  were  not  expensive,  and  my  family  never 
lacked  carefulness,  but  we  had  enough  to  warrant  it  and  we  lived  freely  — 
travelled  always  a  good  deal,  and  did  not  pinch  ourselves  in  any  respect. 

As  to  the  Presidency,  this  was  the  situation:  We  were  opposed  to  the  use  of 
wines  and  liquors  in  our  household.  We  continued  at  Washington  the  habits  of 
our  Ohio  home.  A  bright  and  persistent  correspondent,  who  failed  to  get  the 
office  he  wanted,  attacked  us  savagely  on  all  occasions.  He  started  many  ill- 
natured  stories,  showing  that  we  were  too  economical,  and  repeatedly  charged 
that  the  total-abstinence  rule  at  the  WThite  House  was  due  to  a  desire  to  save 
expense.  We  did  nothing  that  even  seemed  to  warrant  this  attack.  We  spent  in 
hospitality,  charities,  and  generous  living  the  whole  amount.  My  belief  is  that 
no  others  ever  spent  so  much  in  the  WThite  House  as  we  did.  Many  old  Congress 
men  (Mr.  Stevens,  Fernando  Wood,  and,  I  think,  S.  S.  Cox)  said  repeatedly  that 
they  had  known  and  heard  of  no  one  who  entertained  so  much.  Mrs.  Hayes  took 
pains  always  to  have  young  ladies  as  guests  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  South 
as  well  as  North.  Special  entertainments  were  frequent.  And  the  regular  routine 
of  affairs  was  made  exceptionally  brilliant  and  expensive.  Many  new  dinners  and 
entertainments  were  added  to  the  "  of  course  "  affairs.  Mrs.  Hayes  was  busy  with 
her  whole-hearted  energy  in  looking  up  the  needy.  When  we  left  Washington  a 
story  was  started  that  I  had  saved  about  twenty  thousand  dollars  during  my 
term.  This  was  shown  by  the  reduction  of  my  indebtedness  to  that  amount. 
This  had  an  appearance  of  truth,  and  was  perhaps  derived  from  one  of  the 
family.  But  on  looking  up  affairs  at  home  it  turned  out  that  a  large  part  of  this 
reduction  of  my  debts  was  from  collections  on  real  estate  sales  made  before  I 
left  home. 

I  left  Washington  with  less  than  one  thousand  dollars.  If  you  find  who  the 
correspondent  is,  and  that  he  is  a  fair-minded  man,  as  I  think  he  is,  you  may  if 
it  seems  sensible  to  do  so,  take  this  matter  up  with  him.  But  do  not  publish  this 
letter  which  is  for  your  information.  The  thing  is  not  important  now.  I  am 


LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  315 

station.  Especially,  it  would  be  in  positive  derogation  of  the 
taste  and  hospitality  of  the  American  people,  if  distinguished 
guests  from  foreign  lands,  where  no  dinner  was  ever  served  with 
out  wine,  should  be  deprived  at  the  President's  board  of  their 
accustomed  beverage.  But  it  is  for  the  giver  of  the  feast  to  de 
termine  the  character  of  the  entertainment  in  accordance  with 
his  own  ideas  of  propriety ;  and  a  European  visitor  in  an  Ameri 
can  house  has  no  more  right  to  ask  conformity  to  European 
usages  than  an  American  guest  in  a  European  house  would  have 
to  expect  that  his  prejudices  should  be  observed. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  overwhelming  mass  of  Christian  citi 
zenship  of  the  country,  the  great  body  of  the  plain  people,  the 
universal  voice  of  church  organizations  and  of  the  religious 
press,  approved  and  applauded  the  banishment  of  wine  from 
the  White  House.  They  expressed  their  approbation  in  countless 
letters,  resolutions,  memorials,  addresses,  poems,  and  editorial 
articles.  It  was  widely  thought  at  the  time  that  Mrs.  Hayes  was 
entitled  to  most  credit  for  the  edict  against  wine,  though  as  a 
matter  of  fact  the  President  was  quite  as  decided  as  she  in  favor 
of  the  action.1  The  result  was  that  Mrs.  Hayes  was  exalted  by 
the  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union  into  a  sort  of  patron 
saint;  and  her  name  was  given  to  many  of  its  branches.  Wher 
ever  she  went  about  the  country,  in  the  many  trips  she  made, 
either  alone  or  with  the  President,  temperance  women  thronged 
to  pay  her  homage,  sounding  her  praises  in  every  form  of  adula 
tory  address.  Finally,  as  a  supreme  expression  of  their  apprecia 
tion  and  admiration,  all  the  temperance  societies  of  the  country 
united  in  presenting  to  the  nation  a  beautiful  life-size  portrait 
of  Mrs.  Hayes  painted  by  the  celebrated  Daniel  Huntington.2 

not  blamed  by  any  person  on  the  score  of  economy  so  far  as  I  know.  —  Sin 
cerely, 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 

HON.  THOMAS  DONALDSON. 

1  After  two  years,  February  29,  1879,  Mr.  Hayes  wrote  in  his  diary:  "The 
exclusion  of  wine  from  the  list  of  refreshments  has  turned  out  exceedingly  well. 
There  is  a  good  deal  of  dissipation  here.  At  the  receptions  of  the  British  Minister, 
and  at  that  of  the  Mexican  Minister,  disgraceful  things  were  done  by  young  men 
made  reckless  by  too  much  wine.  Hence  the  necessity  for  our  course  is  obvious 
and  is  commended  in  unexpected  quarters.  Many  of  the  foreign  gentlemen 
speak  of  it  with  approval.  We  shall  stick  to  it." 

*  The  portrait  was  encased  in  a  heavy  oaken  frame  designed  and  richly  carved 


316  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

The  gift  was  accepted  by  President  Garfield  a  few  days  after  his 
inauguration  and  remains  in  the  White  House  as  one  of  its  most 
conspicuous  ornaments.  Mrs.  Hayes  is  represented  standing, 
in  a  gown  of  ruby-colored  velvet,  relieved  with  lace  about  the 
neck  and  sleeves,  and  holding  in  her  right  hand  three  cream- 
white  roses.  Both  pose  and  likeness  are  most  admirable  and  give 
every  beholder  a  vivid  impression  alike  of  the  strength  and 
the  sweetness  of  the  character  portrayed.  More  than  this,  an 
address  of  commendation,  bearing  the  autograph  signatures  of 
hundreds  of  men  and  women,  —  among  them  those  of  the  most 
eminent  and  influential  personages  of  the  country,  —  preserved 
in  several  great  morocco-bound  volumes,  was,  after  the  return 
to  Fremont,  presented  by  ladies  of  Illinois  with  appropriate 
ceremony  to  Mrs.  Hayes.1 

by  the  Cincinnati  School  of  Design.  In  Mr.  Arthur's  Administration  a  gilt  frame 
was  substituted  for  the  oak  frame  as  being  more  suitable.  Thereupon,  through 
Mr.  Hayes's  good  offices,  the  original  frame  was  returned  to  its  Cincinnati  givers. 
1  Each  autograph  is  on  a  separate  sheet  of  vellum.  The  first  volume  has  at  the 
beginning  a  long  autograph  poem  addressed  to  Mrs.  Hayes  by  Benjamin  F. 
Taylor.  The  first  autograph  is  that  of  Mrs.  James  K.  Polk.  Then  follow  the  sig 
natures  of  the  leading  public  officials  throughout  the  Union.  The  second  volume 
is  devoted  to  the  army  and  navy;  the  fourth  and  fifth,  to  the  clergy,  the  bar,  the 
press,  and  artisans  and  tradesmen;  the  sixth,  to  church  and  temperance  workers. 
Many  of  the  signers  in  all  these  volumes  wrote  words  of  greeting  or  praise.  The 
chief  interest,  however,  centres  in  the  third  volume,  where  are  expressed  the 
sentiments  of  the  poets,  authors,  artists,  musicians,  inventors,  and  educators. 
Here,  in  upright  hand,  is  the  name  of  Henry  W.  Longfellow,  with  the  lines:  — 

"  Whene  'er  a  noble  deed  is  wrought, 
Whene'er  is  spoken  a  noble  thought, 
Our  hearts  in  glad  surprise 
To  higher  levels  rise." 

On  the  following  leaf  John  Greenleaf  Whittier  wrote:  — 

"Her  presence  lends  its  warmth  and  health 

To  all  who  come  before  it; 
If  woman  lost  us  Eden,  such 
As  she  alone  restore  it." 

Turning  the  page,  we  have  this  from  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes:  — 

"Look  in  our  eyes,  your  welcome  waits  you  there, 
North,  South,  East,  West,  from  all  and  everywhere." 

And  on  the  reverse  of  the  sheet  he  wrote:  — 

"Lord  of  the  universe,  shield  us  and  guide  us, 

Trusting  Thee  always  through  shadow  and  sun! 
Thou  hast  united  us,  who  shall  divide  us? 
Keep  us,  oh,  keep  us,  the  Many  in  One." 

Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps  sent  her  greeting  to  one  "Who  has  the  dignity,  cour 
age,  and  fidelity  of  her  convictions." 


LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  317 

The  pupils  of  the  Cincinnati  School  of  Design,  near  the  end  of 
Mr.  Hayes's  term,  desired  to  give  Mrs.  Hayes  a  handsome  oak 
sideboard  the  elaborate  carving  of  which  was  their  handiwork. 
The  President  was  opposed  to  the  acceptance  of  any  gifts  of 
value,  whereupon  the  then  Commissioner  of  Public  Buildings 
and  Grounds  decided  on  its  purchase  for  the  White  House.  No 
funds  were  available  therefor  until  after  the  beginning  of  the 
next  fiscal  year;  so  that  Mr.  Arthur  was  already  President  be 
fore  the  transaction  was  completed.  The  sideboard,  which  was 
always  known  as  the  "Hayes  Sideboard,"  was  a  conspicuous 
ornament  of  the  private  dining-room  through  several  adminis 
trations.  On  the  renovation  of  the  White  House  some  years  ago, 

Mrs.  A.  D.  T.  Whitney  to  "The  woman  who  standing  'in  the  midst,'  in  the 
Chief  Home,  stood  bravely,  for  the  sake  of  every  home  in  the  land." 

Other  sentiments  are  these:  — 

"  A  good  deed  outlasts  official  position."   (Charles  Dudley  Warner.) 

"To  perform  one's  function  with  fidelity  and  simplicity  is  to  be  both  hero  and 
saint."  (Edward  Eggleston.) 

"The  fragrance  of  her  goodness  will  linger  forever  about  the  Executive  Man 
sion."  (Frederick  Douglass.) 

"That  woman's  hand  that  puts  away  the  cup 
Is  fair  as  Joan's  with  the  sword  lift  up." 

(G.  W.  Cable.) 

"Woman  only  can  make  wine-drinking  unfashionable,  and  heal  the  Nation  of 
its  curse."  (J.  G.  Holland.) 

"Laurels  in  life's  first  summer  glow 

Rarely  grow; 
But  honors  thicken  on  heads  of  snow." 

(J.  T.  Trowbridge.) 

"The  White  House  at  Washington,  whiter  and  purer  because  Mrs.  Hayes  has 
been  its  mistress."  (Thomas  W.  Higginson.) 

"Hand  in  hand  with  angels; 

Blessed  so  to  be! 
Helped  are  all  the  helpless; 
Giving  light,  they  see!" 

(Lucy  Larcom.) 

"When  high  moral  worth  and  courage  combine  with  gentleness,  matronly 
dignity,  graciousness,  genial  wit,  and  sweetest  charity,  the  charm  is  complete." 
(Daniel  Huntington,  who  at  the  tune  was  painting  the  White  House  portrait  of 
Mrs.  Hayes.) 

Of  all  the  autographs,  none  pleased  Mrs.  Hayes  more  than  that  of  George  F. 
Root,  the  famous  composer.  Under  a  sketch  of  a  woman  with  bowed  head,  sitting 
near  a  harp,  he  had  copied  a  bar  of  music  and  its  accompanying  words,  — 
"  Yes,  we  '11  rally  round  the  flag,  boys!  "  — 

thus  expressing  better  than  any  one  else  that  intense  patriotism  which  was  one 
of  the  deepest  emotions  of  Mrs.  Hayes's  heart. 


318  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

it  was  discarded  and  found  its  way  with  other  cast-off  White 
House  furniture  to  a  second-hand  dealer,1  when  it  was  pur 
chased  by  a  private  citizen  and  put  to  ignominious  use. 

Of  the  unusual  social  events  that  took  place  in  the  White 
House  during  this  period,  the  most  notable  was  the  celebration 
of  the  silver  wedding  of  the  President  and  Mrs.  Hayes,  the  first 
celebration  of  the  sort  in  the  annals  of  the  Executive  Mansion. 
The  actual  date  of  the  anniversary  was  December  30,  but  as  this 
date  in  1877  fell  on  Sunday,  the  reception  was  postponed  to  the 
evening  of  December  31.  It  had  been  the  original  purpose  to 
have  present  for  the  occasion  only  the  members  of  the  family 
and  such  of  the  guests  at  the  wedding  twenty-five  years  before 
as  could  come  to  Washington.  The  list  was  enlarged,  however, 
to  include  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  and  their  wives,  Chief 
Justice  and  Mrs.  Waite,  Justice  and  Mrs.  Swayne,  and  any 
Kenyon  College  friends,  Cincinnati  lawyers  of  the  President's 
time  of  practice  in  that  city,  members  of  the  Cincinnati  Literary 
Club,  and  comrades  of  the  Twenty-third  Ohio  Regiment,  that 
might  be  in  the  Capital.  Even  so,  the  number  invited  did  not 
exceed  one  hundred.  The  invitations  were  written  on  note  paper 
by  one  of  the  clerks.  Then  the  President  himself  added  the 
words,  "I  hope  you  will  come,"  and  addressed  them  in  his  own 
hand. 

From  Ohio  came  Mrs.  Mitchell,  of  Columbus,  —  the  Presi 
dent's  niece  who,  as  a  little  girl,  had  held  Mrs.  Hayes's  hand 
during  the  wedding  service  in  1852,  —  with  her  daughter  and 
her  brother,  Rutherford  H.  Platt;  the  Reverend  Dr.  L.  D.  Me- 
Cabe,  professor  in  the  University  at  Delaware,  who  had  offi 
ciated  at  the  wedding;  Dr.  and  Mrs.  John  Davis,  General  and 
Mrs.  M.  F.  Force,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  W.  Herron,  and  Colonel 
L.  C.  Weir,  of  Cincinnati,  all  of  whom,  except  Mrs.  Force  and 
Colonel  Weir,  had  been  present  at  the  wedding.  These  were  all 
entertained  at  the  White  House  during  their  stay  of  some  days 
in  Washington.  On  Sunday  afternoon  in  the  Blue  Parlor,  in  the 
presence  of  the  family  and  these  special  guests,  the  wedding 

1  Such  disposition  of  old  White  House  furniture,  while  without  warrant  of  law, 
was  long  the  rule  and  was  hardly  creditable  to  the  country.  One  would  suppose 
that  it  might  rather  be  distributed  among  the  museums  of  the  country;  at  least 
any  pieces  that  possessed  artistic  or  historic  value,  or  to  which  any  sentimental 
interest  attached. 


LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  319 

ceremony  of  twenty-five  years  before  was  repeated  by  Dr. 
McCabe  and  the  vows  were  renewed,  Mrs.  Hayes  wearing  the 
same  gown  of  white  flowered  satin  in  which  she  had  first  plighted 
her  troth,1  and  Mrs.  Mitchell  standing  at  her  side,  as  she  did,  a 
little  girl,  that  far-away  afternoon  in  1852.  This  impressive 
service  was  followed  with  the  baptism  and  christening  of  the  two 
young  children  of  the  White  House,  Fanny  and  Scott  Russell 
Hayes;  and  likewise  of  the  infant  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Herron,  who,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  standing  as  sponsors, 
received  the  name  Lucy  Hayes  Herron.  At  this  service  all  the 
attendants  and  servants  of  the  White  House  were  asked  to  be 
present. 

Earlier  in  the  afternoon  the  guests  had  gathered  with  the 
family  in  Mrs.  Hayes's  apartment,  when  General  Force  read 
aloud  the  many  letters,  dispatches,  and  poems  of  felicitation 
that  had  been  received.  The  President  had  been  careful  to  let 
it  be  known  that  presents  were  not  expected  or  desired.  But 
members  of  the  family  and  the  intimate  friends  and  associates 
would  not  allow  the  occasion  to  pass  without  some  token  of  their 
regard;  and  so  many  articles  of  silver  —  none  of  great  intrinsic 
value  —  were  given  to  Mrs.  Hayes.  The  gift  that  touched  her 
most  deeply  of  all,  because  of  the  sentiment  and  affection  that 
inspired  it,  was  a  burnished  silver  plaque,  embedded  in  velvet 
and  encased  in  a  frame  of  ebony  picked  out  with  white  enamel. 
The  upper  part  of  the  plaque  was  engraved  with  the  colors  of  the 
regiment;  the  lower  part  with  a  representation  of  the  double  log 
cabin  occupied  by  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Hayes  and  their  two  elder 
sons  in  the  winter  of  1863,  at  Camp  Reynolds,  Kanawha  Falls, 
West  Virginia.  In  the  mid-space  were  incised  in  minute  script 
these  verses,  written  by  Sergeant-Major  William  E.  Sweet:  — 

1  "Mrs.  Hayes  surprised  the  friends  who  were  visiting  her  by  appearing  in  her 
original  wedding  dress  —  a  dress  quaint  enough,  yet  not  altogether  unbecoming, 
but  a  great  contrast  in  its  absence  of  train  and  excessive  fulness  to  the  close- 
fitting  princesse  of  to-day.  It  was  of  figured  white  satin,  with  large  plaits  joining 
the  plain  and  very  full  skirt  to  the  waist.  The  very  donning  of  the  robe  seemed  to 
destroy  the  intervening  years,  and  Mrs.  Hayes  was  as  merry  as  a  girl  in  what  had 
once  been  a  very  elegant  costume.  Her  hair  was  arranged  as  usual,  in  its  peculiar 
plain  style  —  a  style  which  strikes  one  at  a  distance  as  ungraceful  and  unbecom 
ing,  but  on  nearer  view  the  lovely  Evangeline  eyes  and  sweet  face  overpower  all 
thought  of  the  hair.  A  few  natural  flowers  were  the  only  ornaments  she  wore." 
(Washington  correspondence  in  Buffalo  Commercial  Advertiser,  January  5, 1878.) 


320  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

To  THE  MOTHER  OF  OURS 

From  the  23d  O.V.L 

To  thee,  our  "mother,"  on  thy  silver  "troth," 
We  bring  this  token  of  our  love.  Thy  "boys" 
Give  greeting  unto  thee  with  brimming  hearts. 
Take  it,  for  it  is  made  of  beaten  coin, 
Drawn  from  the  hoarded  treasures  of  thy  speech: 
Kind  words  and  gentle,  when  a  gentle  word 
Was  worth  the  surgery  of  an  hundred  schools, 
To  heal  sick  thought  and  make  our  bruises  whole. 
Take  it,  our  "mother,"  't  is  but  some  small  part 
Of  thy  rare  bounty  we  give  back  to  thee; 
And  while  love  speaks  in  silver  from  our  hearts, 
We'll  bribe  old  Father  Time  to  spare  his  gift. 

At  six  o'clock  all  the  guests  and  all  the  members  of  the  family 
sat  down  to  a  wedding  feast  in  the  family  dining-room.  There 
were  twenty-three  at  table.  The  evening,  which  as  usual  brought 
many  callers,  had,  like  other  Sunday  evenings,  its  hour  of  singing 
and  then  came  to  its  close  in  happy  reminiscence  of  the  long-past 
Cincinnati  days.  The  silver  wedding  reception  on  Monday  even 
ing  is  described  by  the  newspaper  correspondents  of  the  day  as 
one  of  the  most  interesting  and  enjoyable  entertainments  of 
which  the  White  House  had  ever  been  the  scene.  The  house  was 
as  brightly  illuminated  as  was  possible  in  the  days  when  gas  was 
the  perfection  of  lighting,  and  for  the  first  time  the  conservatory 
was  ablaze  with  gas-jets  and  open  to  the  guests.  All  the  rooms 
were  lavishly  but  tastefully  adorned  with  plants  and  flowers 
and  trailing  vines.  The  Marine  Band  was  present  throughout 
the  evening,  filling  the  spacious  rooms  at  intervals  with  joyous 
music.  The  guests  began  to  arrive  at  nine  o'clock,  when,  to  the 
strains  of  Mendelssohn's  Wedding  March,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes 
descended  the  stairs,  followed  by  the  house  guests,  two  and  two, 
and  proceeded  to  the  great  East  Room,  where  they  stationed 
themselves  in  front  of  the  east  windows  and  there  received  the 
congratulations  and  good  wishes  of  their  friends.  Mr.  Hayes 
was  in  conventional  evening  dress,  with  a  rose  in  the  lapel  of  his 
coat.  Mrs.  Hayes  wore  a  handsome  gown  of  white  silk,  with 
draperies  of  white  brocade,  the  heart-shaped  neck  filled  after 
her  customary  manner  with  filmy  tulle,  and  the  half-sleeves  end 
ing  with  lace.  Her  only  ornament  was  a  silver  comb  fastening 


LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  321 

back  her  heavy  bands  of  glossy  black  hair,  and  some  delicate 
white  flowers  on  the  left  side  of  her  head. 

All  the  guests  knew  one  another  so  well  that  nothing  formal 
or  ceremonious  marked  the  evening.  Every  one  entered  heartily 
into  the  spirit  of  the  occasion,  moving  about  the  rooms  from 
group  to  group  to  greet  acquaintances  and  share  in  the  vivacious 
conversation.  At  ten  o'clock  the  wedding  march  again  was 
heard,  and  at  the  signal  all  the  guests  followed  the  President  and 
Mrs.  Hayes  to  the  state  dining-room  where  a  wonderful  colla 
tion  was  served.  The  bells  of  the  city  were  ringing  in  the  New 
Year  before  the  last  guests,  who  tarried  to  blend  New  Year's 
greetings  with  their  words  of  farewell,  had  taken  their  depar 
ture.  No  other  social  experience  in  all  their  official  life  was  quite 
so  full  of  joy  and  satisfaction  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  as  this 
silver  wedding  celebration.  Old  friendships  had  been  deepened 
in  their  tenderness  and  new  friendships  had  been  made  closer 
by  the  opportunities  it  had  afforded  for  spontaneous  expressions 
of  personal  interest  and  regard.1  The  brilliant  New  Year's 
reception  the  next  day,  with  all  the  decorations  of  the  rooms 
remaining  as  they  were,  when  all  official  Washington  thronged 
to  the  White  House  to  pay  respect,  and  the  parlors  were  bright 
with  the  splendid  costumes  of  diplomats  and  the  uniforms  of 
military  and  naval  officers  of  high  degree,  seemed  almost  a  con 
tinuation  of  the  silver  wedding  celebration.  For  mingled  with 
the  conventional  greetings  of  the  season  to  the  President  and 
Mrs.  Hayes  were  expressions  of  personal  felicitation  and  good 
wishes  in  recognition  of  the  happy  anniversary  that  had  just 
been  commemorated. 

June  19,  1878,  the  White  House  was  the  scene  of  a  most 
beautiful  and  interesting  wedding  service  —  the  eighth  ceremony 
of  the  sort  in  the  historic  mansion.  The  bride  was  Miss  Emily 

1  A  few  days  after  the  silver  wedding  (January  12)  Mr.  Hayes,  recording  the 
sudden  death  of  his  old  friend,  R.  C.  Anderson,  of  Dayton,  who  to  his  great  regret 
had  been  unable  to  come  to  Washington,  writes,  in  his  diary:  "And  so  one  of  my 
dearest  friends  is  gone.  A  friend  of  thirty  years'  standing;  a  man  of  such  warm 
affections,  so  unselfish,  honorable,  and  true,  that  his  friendship  was  to  be  counted 
as  one  of  the  greatest  blessings.  His  home  in  Dayton  was  my  home.  ...  At  the 
time  of  our  silver  wedding  it  was  mentioned  as  remarkable  that  the  friends  with 
whom  I  was  most  intimate  when  I  married  in  1852  were  all  still  my  most  intimate 
friends  —  all  living,  namely,  Richard  C.  Anderson,  Manning  F.  Force,  John  W. 
Herron,  George  W.  Jones,  William  K.  Rogers,  R.  H.  Stevenson." 


322  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

Platt,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Mr.  Hayes's  beloved  sister 
Fanny.  She  was  an  attractive  and  accomplished  young  woman, 
who  had  been  Mrs.  Hayes's  constant  companion  and  most  effi 
cient  assistant  in  all  White  House  activities.  The  bridegroom 
was  General  Russell  Hastings,  since  the  beginning  of  the  Civil 
War  a  trusted  friend  of  Mr.  Hayes.  He  served  throughout  the 
war  in  Mr.  Hayes's  regiment,  of  which  he  rose  by  meritorious 
service  to  be  lieutenant-colonel,  and  for  gallantry  in  action  he 
had  received  the  rank  of  brevet  brigadier-general.  During  the 
last  year  of  the  war,  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  he  was  General 
Hayes's  adjutant-general.  At  the  battle  of  Opequon  he  was 
severely  wounded  and  lay  for  weary  weeks  in  the  hospital  at 
Winchester,  hovering  between  life  and  death.  No  officer  in  the 
volunteer  service  had  a  fairer  reputation  for  dashing  courage 
and  reckless  daring.  Since  the  war  he  had  been  in  the  Ohio 
Legislature  and  for  many  years  had  served  as  United  States 
Marshal  for  the  Northern  District  of  Ohio.  At  this  time  he  was 
a  banker  at  Rockford,  Illinois.  In  spite  of  his  lameness  from  his 
honorable  wound,  he  was  a  man  of  splendid  vigor  and  striking 
personality. 

The  wedding  was  celebrated  in  the  Blue  Parlor,  the  most 
beautiful  of  all  the  White  House  rooms.  This  had  been  trans 
formed  into  a  realm  of  faery  with  profuse  floral  decoration.  In 
front  of  the  three  windows  stretched  high  a  bar  of  bright-colored 
blossoms,  from  each  end  of  which  hung  wreaths  of  white  flowers 
enclosing  medallions  bearing  the  initials  of  bride  and  bridegroom. 
From  its  centre  was  suspended  a  huge  wedding  bell  composed, 
as  one  correspondent  of  the  day  takes  pains  to  tell  us,  of  fifteen 
thousand  white  roses.  The  twilight  still  lingered  at  seven  o'clock 
that  June  day,  but  the  curtains  were  drawn  and  the  chandeliers 
were  ablaze,  when  to  the  melodious  chords  of  the  Mendelssohn 
Wedding  March,  softly  played  by  the  Marine  Band,  the  wed 
ding  procession  entered  the  room.  Mr.  Hayes  led  with  Mrs. 
Mitchell,  then  came  Mrs.  Hayes  with  the  bridegroom,  fol 
lowed  by  the  bride  with  her  father.  The  plighted  pair  stood 
under  the  bell  of  roses  while  Bishop  Jagger,  of  the  Southern 
Ohio  Episcopal  Diocese,  in  canonical  robes,  read  the  impres 
sive  marriage  service  of  the  English  Church.  The  guests  of  the 
occasion  were  only  immediate  relatives,  intimate  friends,  and 


LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  323 

persons  of  the  Cabinet  circle.  It  had  been  the  expressed  wish 
of  Mrs.  Hayes  that  the  correspondents  should  refrain  from  de 
scribing  the  bride's  trousseau  and  the  toilets  of  the  other  ladies 
present,  or  from  making  mention  of  the  wedding  gifts.  But  that 
was  asking  too  much  of  those  who  purvey  information  to  meet 
the  taste  and  curiosity  of  newspaper  readers.  And  so  we  know 
that  the  bridal  gown  was  of  "rich  white  brocade  satin,  made  in 
princesse  style  en  train";  that  "the  plain  skirt  was  finished  at 
the  bottom  with  a  flounce  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  yard  in  width, 
laid  in  flat  plaits  and  finished  by  an  exquisite  wreath  of  orange 
blossoms  with  waxen  buds  and  shining  leaves";  and  that  "the 
bridal  veil  of  illusion  reached  to  the  bottom  of  the  train,  with  a 
short  veil  over  the  face,  and  a  coronet  of  orange  buds  and  leaves 
falling  gracefully  over  the  brideV  shoulders."  We  know,  too, 
that  Mrs.  Hayes  wore  a  most  becoming  gown  of  "heavy  cream- 
colored  grosgrain,  combined  with  brocaded  velvet  grenadine  of 
the  same  shade,  garnished  with  magnificent  chenille  ball  fringe 
and  lace,  braided  with  pearls;  cut  princesse  en  train,  with  square 
corsage,  filled  in  with  tulle,  and  elbow  sleeves."  And  some  way 
we  are  glad  to  have  these  intimate  details  of  this  gracious  family 
event  in  the  official  mansion  of  the  nation's  Chief  Executive. 

One  other  social  event  at  the  White  House  during  Mr.  Hayes's 
term  is  worthy  of  special  record.  This  was  the  entertainment  of 
former  members  of  the  famous  Cincinnati  Literary  Club  who 
were  at  that  time  residents  of  Washington.  Mr.  Hayes,  it  will 
be  recalled,  was  active  in  the  club  during  the  years  he  lived  in 
Cincinnati  and  made  among  its  members  many  enduring  friend 
ships.  It  was  customary  for  the  club  to  celebrate  each  year  the 
anniversary  of  its  formation.  In  harmony  with  this  custom  the 
President  invited  the  Washington  club  members  to  a  dinner  and 
reunion  at  the  White  House  on  the  evening  of  Tuesday,  October 
29,  1878,  the  twenty-ninth  anniversary  of  the  club's  existence. 
Besides  the  President  there  were  present  Judges  Warden  and 
James,  General  R.  D.  Mussey,  Henry  Reed,  W.  K.  Rogers, 
Professor  Cleveland  Abbe,  General  T.  C.  H.  Smith,  William 
Guilford,  W.  W.  Warden,  A.  R.  Spofford,  Sam.  P.  Butler,  Henry 
C.  Borden,  John  E.  Hatch,  and  Aaron  R.  Button.  At  the  table 
there  were  also  Mrs.  Hayes,  Mrs.  Rogers,  General  and  Mrs. 
Hastings,  and  Webb  C.  Hayes.  After  the  dinner,  served  in  the 


324  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

family  dining-room,  which  was  attended  with  a  constant  flow  of 
reminiscences  and  anecdotes  relating  to  the  club's  history  and 
its  members,  the  ladies  withdrew,  and  Mr.  Spofford  was  made 
chairman  of  the  more  formal  reunion.  But  the  proceedings  were 
hardly  more  than  formal  in  name.  The  men  were  together  for 
an  evening  of  enjoyment,  and  the  fact  that  they  were  gathered 
in  the  White  House  could  not  dampen  the  old-time  spirit  of  good 
fellowship.  For  the  time  being  Mr.  Hayes  was  not  President, 
but  simply  a  fellow  club  member  who  had  made  them  his  guests. 
Papers  or  verses  were  read  by  General  Mussey,  Judge  James, 
Mr.  Guilford,  and  Mr.  Rogers;  and  greetings  were  sent  to  the 
home  club.  Altogether  it  was  a  most  enjoyable  evening,  abound 
ing  in  good  talk;  and  yet,  for  all  its  wit  and  humor  and  revival 
of  pleasant  memories,  touched  with  the  pathos  of  the  days  that 
are  no  more. 

Each  summer,  as  the  heated  term  came  on,  Mr.  Hayes  with 
drew  his  family  from  the  White  House  and  established  it  in  the 
cottage  on  the  grounds  of  the  National  Soldiers'  Home,  in  the 
outskirts  of  the  city.  Strange  as  it  may  seem  now,  President 
Grant  had  been  subjected  to  much  captious  criticism  by  the 
public,  and  even  by  Congress,  for  making  his  summer  abode  at 
Long  Branch,  away  from  the  miasmatic  summer  climate  of  the 
Capital.  He  had  been  the  first  President  to  make  his  temporary 
abode  away  from  Washington,  and  the  country  was  inclined  — 
quite  unreasonably,  as  every  one  now  believes  —  to  question 
the  propriety  of  his  action.  Mr.  Hayes  thought  it  wiser  to  follow 
the  older  precedents  and  have  no  home  while  he  was  President 
outside  of  Washington.  There  is  no  more  beautiful  place  in  or 
about  the  Capital  than  the  high  and  rolling  grounds  of  the 
Soldiers'  Home,  with  its  noble  forests  and  spacious  lawns,  and 
its  miles  of  winding  carriage-ways,  each  turn  in  which  surprises 
one  with  a  new  vista  of  woodland  loveliness  or  a  glimpse  of  the 
city,  stilled  by  the  distance,  and  of  the  Virginia  hills  dreaming 
beyond  the  Potomac.  The  country  house,  standing  on  the 
grounds  when  they  were  purchased  for  the  Home  in  the  middle 
of  the  century,  had  always  been  set  apart  for  the  use  of  the  Presi 
dent.  Mr.  Buchanan  had  occupied  it,  and  President  Lincoln 
spent  his  summers  there;  but  neither  Mr.  Johnson  nor  Gen 
eral  Grant  had  cared  to  live  in  it.  The  house  was  roomy  and 


LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  325 

comfortable,  and  with  its  attractive  surroundings  and  higher 
elevation,  Mr.  Hayes  and  his  family  found  it  far  pleasanter 
than  the  White  House  for  summer  residence;  but  even  there 
they  were  more  or  less  affected  by  the  depressing  summer  climate 
of  the  Potomac  Valley.  They  were  glad  to  get  away  to  cooler 
regions  in  visits  to  friends  or  on  the  semi-official  trips  among  the 
people  of  various  parts  of  the  country  which  have  already  been 
recorded. 

Mrs.  Hayes  never  lost  her  zest  for  the  stir  and  movement  and 
distinction  of  life  in  the  White  House.  It  always  had  perennial 
interest  for  her.  And  yet  as  the  time  drew  near  when  "all  the 
pomp  of  power"  was  to  be  laid  aside,  both  she  and  Mr.  Hayes 
began  to  look  forward  eagerly  to  the  quiet  and  repose  of  private 
life.  There  were  moments,  indeed,  earlier  in  the  term  when  both 
of  them  were  weary  of  the  burdens  of  their  position  and  felt  that 
it  would  be  a  relief  to  escape  from  its  fierce  light.  During  the 
strenuous  days  of  the  prolonged  special  session  of  Congress  in 
1879  we  have,  on  June  6,  this  entry  in  the  diary:  — 

Lucy  and  I  have  had  a  few  minutes'  talk  on  this  laborious,  anxious, 
slavish  life.  It  has  many  attractions  and  enjoyments,  but  she  agrees 
so  heartily  with  me  as  I  say,  "Well,  I  am  heartily  tired  of  this  life  of 
bondage,  responsibility,  and  toil";  "I  wish  it  was  at  an  end";  "I  re 
joice  that  it  is  to  last  only  a  little  more  than  a  year  and  a  half  longer." 

We  are  both  physically  very  healthy,  unusually  capable  of  bearing 
the  fatigues  incident  to  the  place.  We  can  travel  longer  night  and  day 
without  losing  our  spirits  than  almost  any  persons  we  ever  meet.  Our 
tempers  are  cheerful.  We  are  social  and  popular.  But  it  is  one  of  our 
greatest  comforts  that  the  pledge  not  to  take  a  second  term  relieves  us 
from  considering  it.  That  was  a  lucky  thing.  It  is  a  reform  —  or  rather 
a  precedent  for  a  reform,  which  will  be  valuable. 

Confronting  the  last  two  busy  months  of  his  Administration, 
to  be  filled  with  many  and  great  official  cares,  Mr.  Hayes  wrote : 
"We  begin  to  long  for  home  and  freedom  more  and  more  as  the 
time  draws  nearer."  "I  am  soon,"  he  adds,  with  evident  joy 
at  the  prospect,  "to  become  a  private  citizen  —  to  be  entitled 
to  the  privileges  and  immunities  of  that  honorable  and  enviable 
position;  to  have  a  right  to  manage  my  own  private  affairs  with 
out  intrusion.  If  not  one  of  the  wealthy  citizens  of  our  State, 
I  trust  I  shall  always  be  ready  to  offer  to  friends  that  best  part 
of  hospitality,  —  a  hearty  welcome  to  my  home;  and  to  those 


326  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

who  need  it,  that  best  part  of  charity,  —  aid  cheerfully  given 
according  to  my  means." 

And  a  few  days  later  (January  16)  he  recurs  to  the  subject  in 
this  language :  — 

The  Graphic  said  a  few  days  ago:  "Take  him  for  all  in  all,  Hayes  will 
step  out  of  office  on  the  4th  of  March  next  with  more  peace  and  blessing 
than  any  President  in  fifty-six  years.  Who  since  Monroe  has  gone  out 
both  willingly  and  regretted?" 

That  the  White  House  will  be  left  "willingly"  by  both  Mrs.  Hayes 
and  myself  is  perfectly  true.  Indeed,  "gladly"  might  truthfully  be 
substituted  for  "willingly."  We  have  upon  the  whole  enjoyed  our  four 
years  here.  But  the  responsibility,  the  embarrassments,  the  heart 
breaking  sufferings  which  we  can't  relieve,  the  ever-present  danger  of 
scandals  and  crimes  among  those  we  are  compelled  to  trust,  and  a 
thousand  other  drawbacks  to  our  satisfaction  and  enjoyment,  by  which 
we  are  constantly  surrounded,  leave  us  no  place  for  regret  upon  re 
tiring  from  this  conspicuous  scene  to  the  freedom,  independence,  and 
safety  of  our  obscure  and  happy  home  in  the  pleasant  grove  at  Fremont. 

The  social  life  of  the  White  House,  however,  these  last  few 
weeks  moved  on  as  pleasantly  and  brilliantly  as  during  the  pre 
ceding  seasons.  The  house  was  full  of  agreeable  guests,  and  the 
host  of  warm  personal  friends  made  in  the  years  that  had  slipped 
so  rapidly  away  were  more  assiduous  in  their  attentions  than 
ever,  now  that  the  time  of  departure  was  so  near.1  Besides  the 
customary  dinners  and  receptions,  there  was  a  dinner  of  unusual 
splendor  for  General  and  Mrs.  Grant  in  December;  a  dinner  for 
the  trustees  of  the  Peabody  Education  Fund  in  February;  and 
a  great  banquet  for  the  Garfields  on  the  eve  of  inauguration  day.2 
And  during  this  last  winter,  in  defiance  of  ancient  precedent, 

1  There  was  great  satisfaction,  too,  at  this  time  for  Mr.  Hayes  in  knowing  how 
men's  opinions  had  changed  in  respect  to  him.    In  his  diary,  January  23,  he 
writes:  "Coming  in,  I  was  denounced  as  a  fraud  by  all  the  extreme  men  of  the 
opposing  party,  and  as  an  ingrate  and  a  traitor  by  the  same  class  of  men  in  my 
own  party.  Going  out,  I  have  the  good  will,  blessings,  and  approval  of  the  best 
people  of  all  parties  and  sections.  The  thing  that  seems  to  me  unaccountable  is 
that  with  more  than  usual  distrust  of  my  own  powers,  I  had  a  strong  and  com 
forting  faith  that  I  should  be  able  to  organize  and  conduct  an  Administration 
which  would  satisfy  and  win  the  country.  This  faith  never  deserted  me.  I  had  it 
before  either  the  election  or  the  nomination.  Doubtless  it  was  founded  on  my  ex 
perience.  I  have  often  said  that  I  never  fail  to  gain  the  confidence  and  friendship 
of  those  I  wish  to  win  if  I  have  time  and  an  opportunity  to  do  so." 

2  In  January,  too,  Mrs.  Hayes  gave  a  brilliant  luncheon  for  more  than  fifty 
young  ladies,  daughters  of  prominent  citizens. 


MRS.  LUCY  WEBB  HAYES 


From  Portrait  by  Daniel  Huntington.  Presented  to  the  White  House  by  the  Women's 
Christian  Temperance  Union.    Accepted  by  President  Garfield,  1881 


LIFE  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  327 

the  President  and  Mrs.  Hayes  more  than  once  accepted  invita 
tions  for  dinner  at  the  houses  of  their  friends.1 

The  last  subjects  of  large  significance  with  which  Mr.  Hayes 
had  to  deal  were,  besides  the  making  of  several  appointments  to 
important  positions  in  the  public  service,2  the  disposition  of  the 

1  "We  have  dined  out  a  number  of  times  this  winter.  We  thought  we  might 
depart  from  custom  our  last  winter.    Last  night  we  dined  with  Mr.  George 
Bancroft,  the  historian.  The  company  at  table  was  not  large,  but  it  was  notable. 
Mr.  Bancroft,  lively,  full  of  conversation  and  vigor  at  eighty-two  or  more,  is 
noticeable  always.  He  said,  'In  1821  I  met  Mrs.  Jerome  Bonaparte  nee  Patter 
son,  then  a  very  beautiful  and  attractive  woman,  in  Rome.'   'Sea ton  told  me  a 
conversation  he  had  with  Calhoun.  Calhoun  was  a  candidate  for  President  when 
he  was  a  comparatively  young  man.    "I,"  said  Seaton,  "told  him  he  was  too 
young,  that  after  his  two  terms  he  would  still  be  young,  and  he  would  find  it  hard 
to  be  laid  on  the  shelf  so  young."  Calhoun  replied,  "I  would  go  home  and  write 
my  memoirs."  So  characteristic!'  said  Bancroft.  He  said  when  Clay  was  an  old 
man  and  expecting  soon  to  die,  he  expressed  a  wish  to  be  reconciled  to  Calhoun. 
A  meeting  at  Clay's  chamber  was  arranged.  Clay  met  Calhoun  with  the  friendli 
est  courtesy.  Calhoun  was  stiff  —  he  could  n't  say  what  ought  to  be  said,  or  do 
what  ought  to  be  done.  Clay  was  all  the  opposite. 

"After  Mr.  Bancroft,  the  other  notable  persons  present  were  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Evarts,  Senator  and  Mrs.  Hoar,  Sir  Edward  Thornton,  Senator  Allison,  Colonel 
Bonaparte,  the  grandson  of  Prince  Jerome,  Mrs.  Bonaparte,  the  granddaughter 
of  Daniel  Webster,  Mrs.  Bancroft  Davis,  daughter  of  Senator  ('Honest  John') 
Davis,  of  Massachusetts,  and  granddaughter  of  Rufus  King,  Henry  Adams, 
grandson  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  and  his  wife,  niece  of  Mr.  Hooper,  ex-Secretary 
of  the  Navy  Robeson  and  wife,  Mr.  Thayer,  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  and 
his  wife  (a  Livingston),  Mrs.  Hayes,  and  myself.  More  'family'  than  we  have 
met.  Very  agreeable  and  intelligent  people. 

"  Mrs.  Bonaparte  said  her  grandfather,  Daniel  Webster,  the  night  before  his 
great  speech  in  the  debate  with  Hayne,  went  to  bed  at  8  P.M.  and  slept  soundly 
four  hours.  He  then  rose  and  began  his  preparation  [of]  the  great  reply.  The 
whole  subject  poured  at  once  through  his  brain.  Only  one  day  for  that  speech! 
Mrs.  Bonaparte  said  her  grandmother,  on  her  deathbed  at  ninety-five  or  ninety- 
six,  said  to  Colonel  Jerome,  'The  end  of  Royalty  will  soon  come  —  there  will  be 
no  more  kings  or  dynasties;  the  world  is  now  to  be  republican.' 

"Mr.  Adams  said:  'Our  system  of  government  has  failed  utterly  in  many 
respects.  The  House  is  not  what  it  was  intended  to  be,  a  deliberative  body.  The 
majority  can't  control  its  action.  Nothing  less  than  twro  thirds  can  control  it. 
Our  army  is,  or  it  ought  to  be,  a  mere  police.  It  ought  to  be  called  a  police.  Our 
navy  is  nothing.  In  all  ages  the  difficulty  has  been  how  to  decide  who  shall  be 
subs.  It  is  the  same  here.  No  means  has  yet  been  discovered  of  doing  it  peace 
fully.  We  have  not  got  it.  Our  reliance  is  on  the  people  being  so  as  to  need  no 
government.  When  that  is  the  case  we  are  safe."  (Diary,  February  11,  1881.) 

2  Among  these  appointments  was  that  of  Stanley  Matthews  to  the  Supreme 
Court.  This  was  received  by  a  large  part  of  the  press  with  a  storm  of  disapproval 
and  censure,  because  Mr.  Matthews  had  been  a  corporation  attorney.    The  Sen 
ate  refused  for  some  weeks  to  confirm  the  appointment;  but  finally  after  Mr.  Gar- 
field  became  President  did  confirm  it  by  a  bare  majority.  Mr.  Matthews  proved 


328  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD   HAYES 

unfortunate  Ponca  Indian  difficulty,  and  the  veto  of  the  Re 
funding  Bill,  threatening  disaster  to  the  national  banking  sys 
tem,  which  have  already  been  discussed  in  preceding  chapters. 
The  veto  message  was  sent  to  Congress  only  twenty-four  hours 
before  Mr.  Hayes  was  to  surrender  the  reins  of  Government  to 
his  successor.  The  acclaim  of  gratitude  with  which  it  was  wel 
comed  by  the  conservative  public  opinion  of  the  country  went 
far  to  swell  the  chorus  of  commendation  wrhich  signalized  the 
close  of  the  Administration.  Innumerable  expressions  of  ap 
probation  came  directly  to  Mr.  Hayes  either  by  word  of  mouth  l 
or  in  letters  from  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men;  and  a  decided 
majority  of  the  reputable  newspapers  of  the  land  printed  dis 
criminating  editorial  reviews  of  the  President's  merits  and 
achievements  in  which  approval  and  praise  were  the  dominant 
notes. 

on  the  bench  that  Mr.  Hayes's  judgment  of  his  character  and  fitness  was  alto 
gether  sound.  He  was  a  wise  and  upright  jurist  and  lived  to  hear  his  detractors 
sound  his  praise. 

1  "My  closing  days  are  full  of  satisfactions.  I  have  shaken  hands  with  five 
hundred  to-day.  Many  clergymen  congratulate  me.  The  burden  of  the  talk  on 
all  sides  is  a  clean,  honest,  independent,  and  successful  Administration.  Mr. 
Stephens,  of  Georgia,  says  he  never  saw  an  Administration  go  out  so  well  spoken 
of.  Senators,  Representatives,  and  citizens  say  the  same."  (Diary,  March  2, 
1881.) 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

THE  RETURN  TO  SPIEGEL  GROVE 

WITH  the  end  of  his  term  as  President  Mr.  Hayes's  career 
in  public  office  came  to  a  close.  But  throughout  the  re 
mainder  of  his  life  his  interest  in  public  affairs  was  unrelaxed, 
and  he  was  constantly  engaged  in  the  promotion  of  educational 
and  philanthropic  movements.  Immediately  after  the  inaugura 
tion  of  Mr.  Garfield,  Mr.  Hayes  with  his  family  returned  to  his 
home  in  Fremont,  and  there  through  the  years  that  followed 
lived  in  pleasant  and  dignified  retirement.  While  the  amount 
of  his  property  was  constantly  exaggerated  i  by  persistent  de 
tractors  and  ignorant  or  malicious  paragraphers  of  the  press, 
and  while  much  of  it  consisted  of  unproductive  real  estate,  it 
was  still  ample  enough  to  enable  him  to  live  in  ease  and  comfort, 
and  to  make  it  possible  for  him  to  give  liberal  aid  to  persons  and 
causes  that  excited  his  sympathy  or  appealed  to  his  judgment.2 
He  engaged  in  no  business  or  professional  pursuits.  But  his 
days  were  full  to  overflowing  with  reading  and  historical  stud 
ies,  with  correspondence  which  always  continued  burdensomely 
extensive,  with  participation  in  local  community  concerns,  with 
the  care  and  improvement  of  his  estate,  and  with  the  multi 
farious  public  interests  to  which  he  devoted  much  time  and 
solicitude.  Moreover,  the  gentle  offices  of  hospitality  were  con 
stantly  exercised.  The  house  was  a  centre  of  the  social  life  of  the 
community,  and  it  was  never  long  without  guests  —  relatives 
or  friends  —  who  not  infrequently  stayed  for  days  or  weeks  at 
a  time. 

For  this  life  of  busy  and  thoughtful  leisure  his  place  of  abode 
and  his  immediate  surroundings  afforded  an  admirable  setting. 
Fremont  is  a  substantial  county  town  of  some  ten  thousand 
population,  with  many  thriving  industries,  and  surrounded  by 

1  This  exaggeration  was  a  source  of  much  annoyance  to  Mr.  Hayes  as  it 
resulted  in  bringing  him  innumerable  begging  letters. 

2  Indeed,  he  was  liberal  far  beyond  his  means  in  responding  to  requests  for 
assistance. 


330  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

farm  lands  of  surpassing  fertility.  It  lies  on  both  sides  of  the 
Sandusky  River,  which  flows  in  picturesque  curves  toward  the 
north  to  mingle  its  waters  with  those  of  Lake  Erie,  distant  fif 
teen  miles  as  the  crow  flies,  though  the  leisurely  river  nearly 
quadruples  that  distance.  Here,  before  the  white  men  came,  had 
stood  a  neutral  trading  village  to  which  tribesmen  resorted  from 
far  and  near  to  engage  in  their  rude  commerce.  Here  was  the 
westernmost  point  reached  by  the  Colonial  forces  under  Colo 
nel  Bradstreet  —  doughty  Israel  Putnam  commanding  the  Con 
necticut  battalion  —  dispatched  by  General  Gage  in  1764  to 
war  against  the  famous  Pontiac.  Here  the  gallant  young  Ken- 
tuckian,  Major  George  Croghan,  in  August,  1813,  with  a  hand 
ful  of  men  had  successfully  defended  Fort  Stephenson  against 
the  assault  of  an  overwhelming  number  of  British  regulars  and 
Tecumseh's  red  warriors,  winning  a  victory  which  stirred  the 
people  of  that  day  as  much  as  Dewrey's  feat  at  Manila  thrilled 
those  of  our  generation.  And  through  the  town  William  Henry 
Harrison  had  marched  his  troops  on  his  way  to  embark  them  on 
Perry's  ships  for  Canada,  there  to  win  success  and  glory  at  the 
battle  of  the  Thames.  The  town  long  bore  the  name  of  Lower 
Sandusky,  but  because  this  name  was  so  numerously  employed 
it  was  given  up  in  the  mid-century  and  the  name  of  the  great 
Pathfinder,  then  at  the  height  of  his  popularity,  was  assumed. 
The  town  is  readily  accessible  by  means  of  one  of  the  great  east 
and  west  trunk  railways  and  is  within  easy  distance  of  Toledo 
and  Cleveland.  It  has  an  air  of  well-to-do  comfort  and  pros 
perity,  and  is  noteworthy  for  the  number  of  attractive  homes 
with  well-kept  lawns  and  gardens,  and  everywhere  abundant 
shade  and  fruit  trees.  The  houses  and  cottages  of  artisans  and 
those  in  the  humbler  walks  of  life  are  almost  invariably  trim 
and  neat,  their  front  yards  beautified  with  flowers  and  kitchen 
gardens  in  the  rear.  In  no  quarter  of  the  town  does  shiftlessness 
or  poverty  seem  to  abide.  It  is  the  home  of  many  cultured  and 
refined  people,  largely  of  New  England  extraction,  who  have 
pride  in  their  schools  and  churches,  who  know  good  music  and 
read  good  books,  and  who  are  interested  in  all  the  better  things 
of  life.  A  kindly,  gentle,  hospitable  folk,  indeed,  whose  lines 
are  fallen  unto  them  in  pleasant  places,  and  who,  whatever  their 
interests  or  activities,  still  have  time  to  be  happy. 


THE  RETURN  TO  SPIEGEL  GROVE          331 

At  the  western  edge  of  the  town,  a  mile  from  the  business 
centre,  one  comes  to  Spiegel  Grove.1  It  covers  an  area  of  twenty- 
five  acres,  triangular  in  shape.  On  each  side  runs  a  public  high 
way,  the  road  on  the  longest  side,  Buckland  Avenue,  bearing 
away  to  the  southwest,  and  falling  so  steeply  that  most  of  it  is 
hidden  from  view.  The  surface  of  the  land  is  for  the  greater  part 
level,  but  the  southwestern  angle  drops  by  an  abrupt  declivity 
to  a  level  some  thirty  feet  below  the  larger  tract;  and  the  waters 
of  a  spring  long  ago  ploughed  out  a  miniature  ravine,  where  now 
two  tiny  lakes  have  been  made  within  retaining  walls.  The 
grove  is  of  primeval  forest  trees,  among  which,  however,  have 
been  planted  evergreens,  historic  trees,  like  the  Charter  Oak 
and  the  Napoleon  willow  (from  Mount  Vernon),  and  some 
species  not  native  to  Ohio.  There  are  majestic  oaks  that  have 
weathered  the  storms  of  centuries,  tall  hickories,  towering  elms, 
lofty  maples,  black- walnuts,  and  many  other  varieties.  In  the 
spring  the  pink  blossoms  of  the  wild  crab  scent  the  air  and  the 

1  The  name  was  given  it  by  Mr.  Birchard.  Miss  Lucy  Elliot  Keeler,  of 
Fremont,  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  "Spiegel  Grove,"  says:  "Mr.  Birchard,  on  his 
way  to  and  from  the  village  daily,  passed  his  new  purchase,  noted  the  deep  woods, 
its  pools  of  standing  water  reflecting  like  mirrors  (the  German  word  for  which  is 
Spiegel)  the  great  trees  and  tangled  boughs  and  swaying  vines,  listened  to  the 
song  of  birds,  the  hooting  of  owls  and  the  mourning  of  the  doves,  crooned  over 
the  legends  of  the  place,  smiled  over  its  traditional  ghosts  and  spooks,  recognized 
many  a  likeness  to  the  scenes  of  the  German  fairy  tales  dear  to  his  childhood; 
named  it  Spiegel  Grove."  —  Mr.  Hayes,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend  dated  "Spiegel 
Grove,  30  August,  1889,"  wrote:  "Perhaps  you  will  ask,  '  And  why  called  Spiegel, 
the  German  word  for  mirror? '  My  uncle  perhaps  did  not  carefully  consider  when 
he  named  it.  But  without  philological  discussion  it  runs  thus :  Spiegel  — 
mirror  —  hence,  image;  hence  ghost  or  spirit.  Evil  spirits  are  bogies.  Spiegel  is  a 
good  spirit.  Spiegel  Grove,  therefore,  is  the  home  of  good  spirits,  referring  either  to 
our  friends  departed  who  have  gone  to  the  better  world  and  who  hover  around 
us  here,  or  to  the  fact  that  it  is  the  home  of  cheerfulness  and  happiness.  Three 
grown  persons  who  have  lived  here  have  gone  before.  All  of  them  were  most 
attractive  in  character  and  manners.  One  child  of  ours,  —  aged  eighteen 
months,  —  a  little  boy  of  unusual  beauty  and  goodness,  died  here.  May  we  not, 
therefore,  now  hope  that  good  spirits  are  around  us?"  Mr.  Hayes  added  to  his 
record  of  this  letter:  "Uncle  was  a  humorist  and  added  another  reason  for  the 
name  signifying  '  good  spirits ' : '  I  always  keep  for  those  who  can  safely  use  it  the 
best  of  spirits  to  warm  the  inner  man.' "  —  At  one  time  Mr.  Hayes  had  thought 
of  giving  up  this  name.  Thus  in  his  diary,  October  6,  1879,  when  on  a  visit  to  his 
home,  he  writes:  "Our  place  we  shall  call  Birchard  Grove  after  its  former  owner, 
Uncle  Sardis  Birchard.  His  name,  'Spiegel  Grove,'  fanciful,  eccentric,  does  not 
stick.  We  never  used  it."  —  But  the  "fanciful"  name  was  too  well  established 
and  did  stick;  and  Mr.  Hayes  came  to  like  it. 


332  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

dogwood  gleams  white  among  the  soft  greens  of  the  new  foliage. 
Along  the  steep  bank  by  the  hidden  highway  great  masses  of 
wild  roses  grow  luxuriant,  and  in  their  season  of  flowering  are 
worth  a  long  journey  to  behold.   Many  of  the  great  trees  have 
been  named  for  illustrious  men  who  have  visited  the  grove,  or  to 
commemorate  some  historic  event.  To  the  east  and  south  of  the 
house  are  wide  stretches  of  lawn  edged  with  clumps  of  flowering 
plants  or  bushes.   At  each  angle  of  the  grove  is  an  ornamental 
gateway  built  of  broken  boulders  of  variegated  hues.  Two  of  the 
gateways  are  adorned  with  great  cannon  that  once  saw  service 
in  our  country's  wars.  There  is  an  entrance  also  midway  of  the 
northern  side.    Through  the  grove  from  each  gateway  wind 
gravelled  carriage-roads.  The  one  from  the  main  entrance,  bear 
ing  to  the  southwest,  follows  the  old  French  and  Indian  trail 
which  ran  from  Lake  Erie  up  the  Sandusky  Valley  and  on  down 
the  Scioto  to  the  Ohio.    It  was  the  route  by  which  Harrison 
marched  to  the  north,  and  after  his  day  it  was  called  the  "Harri 
son  Trail."   In  one  place  in  the  grove  for  some  distance  a  rem 
nant  of  the  actual  trail  is  preserved,  the  depression  in  the  earth 
caused  by  the  trampling  of  countless  moccasined  feet  being  dis 
tinctly  discerned.   Close  to  this  drive,  on  the  very  brink  of  the 
declivity,  stands  the  ancient  "Grandfather's  Oak,"  under  which 
one  cold  night  in  the  War  of  1812,  Mrs.  Hayes's  father  biv 
ouacked.  Near  the  ground  its  bole  still  bears  the  scar  made  by 
his  camp-fire.      A  narrow  drive,  running  across  the  park  from 
one  main  drive  to  the  other,  is  completely  shut  in  on  both  sides 
with  dense,  low-hanging  evergreens.  This  is  known  as  "Lovers' 
Lane,"  and  any  moonlight  night  in  summer  is  sure  to  be  "the 
haunt  of  happy  lovers  "  from  the  town.  All  through  the  summer 
the  grove  resounds  with  the  notes  of  numberless  birds,  —  car 
dinals,  robins,  song  sparrows,  doves,  and  orioles,  —  and  hardly 
can  you  glance  upwards  at  a  tree  without  catching  sight  of  a 
squirrel  whisking  along  some  branch  or  bickering  with  his  mate. 
Many  points  in  the  grove  command  a  wide  and  fair  prospect 
over  field  and  farm  to  the  south  and  east,  Evergreen  Hill  rising 
high  in  the  middle  distance  with  its  masses  of  perennial  verdure. 
Persons  who  have  travelled  in  England  are  constantly  reminded 
by  Spiegel  Grove  of  some  country  park  in  the  midland  counties. 
The  house  stands  near  the  centre  of  the  grove.   It  is  of  red 


THE  RETURN  TO  SPIEGEL  GROVE  333 

brick,  with  gray  stone  window  sills  and  caps.  As  originally  built 
in  1860  it  was  an  unpretentious  though  commodious  structure, 
having  a  verandah  on  three  sides.  In  the  months  preceding  the 
return  of  the  family  from  Washington,  the  house  was  nearly 
doubled  in  size  and  many  improvements  were  made  in  the  ul 
terior  arrangement.  Some  years  later  the  back  part  of  the  house 
was  enlarged  and  reconstructed.  The  house  in  its  completed 
form,  while  making  no  pretensions  to  architectural  excellence, 
is  impressive  by  reason  of  its  amplitude,  its  high  ceilings,  and 
its  atmosphere  of  hospitable  comfort.  Along  the  entire  eastern 
front  and  a  part  of  the  southern  side  extends  a  wide  piazza.  The 
length  in  front  is  eighty  feet,  and  here,  when  the  weather  was 
inclement,  it  was  Mr.  Hayes's  custom  to  take  his  constitutional, 
thirty-three  round  courses  making  a  mile.  And  here  on  pleasant 
summer  afternoons  and  evenings  was  the  family  gathering  place, 
the  great  oaks  giving  grateful  shade,  and  the  thick  screen  of 
Dutchman's-pipe  on  the  southern  exposure  shutting  out  the 
rays  of  the  westering  sun.  The  front  door  opens  into  a  wide  hall, 
wainscotted  with  white  walnut,  leading  back  to  the  stairway, 
at  the  left,  and  on  to  the  spacious  dining-room.  From  the  foot 
of  the  stairway  one  looks  up  four  stories  to  the  square  balconied 
cupola,  which  crowns  the  centre  of  the  roof,  and  from  whose 
high  windows  the  hallways  receive  most  of  their  light.  The 
dining-room  has  wainscotting  of  soft  red  cherry  in  panels  and 
a  polished  oaken  floor.  At  the  north  end  a  great  fireplace  oc 
cupies  the  space  between  the  windows,  with  broad  mantel  and 
cabinet  above.  The  other  end  is  recessed  and  filled  with  three 
windows  through  which  the  sunlight  floods  the  room.  For  fur 
niture  there  are  ancestral  mahogany  sideboards,  and  serving- 
tables  l  that  graced  the  White  House  in  Madison's  time,  all 
worthy  of  note  not  only  because  of  their  historic  interest,  but 
also  for  their  beauty  of  form  and  workmanship. 

To  the  right  of  the  hall,  as  you  come  in,  you  pass  through 
a  wide  entrance,  which  can  be  closed  with  sliding  doors,  into 
the  drawing-room.  It  is  nearly  forty  feet  in  length  and  of 

1  These  tables  were,  of  course,  obtained  by  purchase  after  they  had  been 
discarded  by  the  White  House.  There  are  other  pieces  of  furniture  at  Spiegel 
Grove,  formerly  in  the  White  House,  notably  a  desk  which  was  in  the  Cabinet 
room  from  Lincoln's  time,  which  were  similarly  purchased  a  few  years  ago. 


334  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

proportionate  width,  with  windows  reaching  nearly  to  the  floor. 
Low  bookcases  fill  most  of  the  wall-space,  containing  the  English 
and  American  classics.  The  furniture  consists  of  old  mahogany 
pieces,  and  about  the  room  are  many  objects  of  historic  interest. 
Back  of  the  drawing-room,  and  connected  with  it  by  a  wide 
opening,  is  the  long  and  narrow  library,  crowded  to  the  ceiling 
with  thousands  of  volumes,  devoted  mostly  to  American  his 
tory,  exploration,  genealogy,  and  biography.  Among  them  are 
many  books  of  great  rarity  and  value. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  hall  is  the  Red  Parlor,  so  called  from 
the  color  of  its  furnishing,  and  back  of  that,  with  entrance  from 
the  hall,  the  room  always  occupied  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes. 
Here  the  furniture  is  old  mahogany;  the  most  striking  pieces 
being  the  four-poster  bed  and  a  dressing-table  of  unusual  design. 
The  room  has  been  kept  always  in  the  same  state  as  when  oc 
cupied  by  the  President.  Adjoining  is  a  dressing-room,  which 
has  a  door  opening  on  the  outside  world.  Mr.  Hayes  used  it  for 
his  private  study,  and  in  its  quiet  and  seclusion,  with  door  open 
to  the  sun  in  summer,  he  did  most  of  his  writing  of  letters  and 
addresses. 

The  many  chambers  of  the  second  floor  have  most  of  them  old 
furniture  from  many  lands  —  much  of  it  placed  there  since  the 
President's  time.  But  some  rooms  remain  the  same,  notably 
one  filled  with  ancestral  furniture  of  Revolutionary  times.  On 
the  third  floor,  lighted  with  dormer  windows,  is  the  overflow 
library;  case  after  case  filled  with  books  of  general  literature, 
law  treatises,  official  reports,  magazine  and  newspaper  files,  and 
numberless  pamphlets  that  recall  political  controversies  and 
public  disputes  which  long  ago  ceased  to  trouble  men's  minds. 
Here,  too,  in  file-cases,  dispatch-boxes,  and  various  improvised 
receptacles,  are  stored  the  letters  and  manuscripts  accumulated 
during  Mr.  Hayes's  lifetime.  The  mass  of  papers  is  quite  in 
credible  even  to  one  who  has  delved  for  years  among  them.  The 
letters  alone  are  to  be  counted  by  thousands  and  thousands. 
Mr.  Hayes  was  always  reluctant  apparently  to  destroy  any 
message  that  came  to  him  in  writing,  or  any  piece  of  manu 
script,  however  insignificant  it  might  seem  to  be.  Scattered  about 
the  house  in  every  part  is  an  endless  variety  of  curious  and  in 
teresting  objects,  —  ancient  muskets,  relics  of  the  Civil  War, 


THE  RETURN  TO  SPIEGEL  GROVE          335 

battle-flags,  pictures,  trophies  of  the  chase,  souvenirs  and  me 
morials  of  the  life  in  the  White  House  and  of  the  Presidential 
excursions,  Indian  implements,  and  curiosities  from  many  lands. 
One  room  on  the  second  floor  is  so  full  of  souvenirs  and  curios 
that  the  family  dubbed  it  the  "Smithsonian."  1 

It  is  no  wonder,  perhaps,  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  were  glad 
to  leave  the  glitter  and  pomp  of  the  White  House  for  the  quiet 
and  comfort  of  Spiegel  Grove.  They  were  welcomed  home  by 
the  townspeople  with  enthusiastic  acclaim.  In  acknowledging 
the  words  of  welcome  Mr.  Hayes  said:  — 

This  hearty  welcome  to  my  home  is,  I  assure  you,  very  gratifying. 
During  the  last  five  or  six  years  I  have  been  absent  in  the  public  service. 
.  .  .  My  family  and  I  have  none  but  the  friendliest  words  and  senti 
ments  for  the  cities  of  our  late  official  residence,  Columbus  and  Wash 
ington;  but  with  local  attachments,  perhaps  unusually  strong,  it  is 
quite  safe  to  say  that  never  for  one  moment  have  any  of  us  wavered  in 
our  desire  and  purpose  to  return  and  make  our  permanent  residence 
in  the  pleasant  old  place  in  Spiegel  Grove  in  this  good  town  of  Fremont. 
The  question  is  often  heard,  "What  is  to  become  of  the  man  —  what 
is  he  to  do  —  who,  having  been  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Republic  retires 
at  the  end  of  his  official  term  to  private  life?" 

It  seems  to  me  the  reply  is  near  at  hand  and  sufficient:  Let  him,  like 
every  other  good  American  citizen,  be  willing  and  prompt  to  bear  his 
part  in  every  useful  work  that  will  promote  the  welfare  and  the  hap 
piness  of  his  family,  his  town,  his  State,  and  his  country.  With  this 

1  I  have  described  the  interior  of  the  house  in  the  present  tense;  but  the 
description  is  to  be  understood,  except  where  indicated  in  the  text,  to  apply  to 
the  period  of  Mr.  Hayes.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  at  the  time  of  this  publication,  the 
description  in  very  many  particulars  is  no  longer  applicable.  In  1909  Colonel 
Webb  C.  Hayes  generously  deeded  Spiegel  Grove  to  the  State  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Ohio  Archaeological  and  Historical  Society,  on  condition  that  it  be  main 
tained  as  a  state  park,  and  on  further  condition  that  a  fireproof  memorial  build 
ing  be  erected  on  the  ground  for  the  permanent  preservation  of  the  books,  papers, 
and  collections  of  his  father.  He  only  reserved  the  use  of  the  house  in  perpetuity 
for  direct  descendants  of  the  President.  The  society  accepted  the  trust  and  the 
Legislature  of  Ohio  (Democratic  in  both  branches,  and  Governor  Harmon 
approving)  gladly  appropriated  money  for  the  building.  This  structure,  which  is 
of  gray  Ohio  sandstone,  dressed  smooth,  stands  to  the  north  of  the  house  directly 
facing  the  north  entrance  from  Hayes  Avenue.  It  is  of  dignified  classic  archi 
tecture  and  of  ample  size.  To  it  have  been  transferred  all  the  papers,  books, 
memorials,  portraits,  war-time  relics,  and  objects  of  historical  and  antiquarian 
interest,  which  Mr.  Hayes  had  about  him  in  the  house  or  had  placed  in  Birchard 
Library.  Thus  invaluable  historical  material  is  made  accessible  to  students,  and 
the  beautiful  park  and  home  will  remain  intact  for  future  generations  to  enjoy. 
—  For  further  details  regarding  the  house  and  grounds,  see  the  article  by  Miss 
Lucy  Elliot  Keeler,  printed  as  an  appendix  to  this  volume. 


336  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

disposition  he  will  have  work  enough  to  do,  and  that  sort  of  work  that 
yields  more  individual  contentment  and  gratification  than  belong  to  the 
more  conspicuous  employments  of  the  life  from  which  he  has  retired.1 

For  the  first  few  weeks  Mr.  Hayes  was  busy  in  setting  his 
house  in  order  and  arranging  his  books  in  the  new  library.  At 
the  same  time  he  began  at  once  to  identify  himself  anew  with 
the  life  of  the  community.  It  was  his  idea  that  every  citizen 
should  do  his  share  of  the  common  duties  and  take  an  active 
interest  in  local  public  enterprises.  So  he  resumed  participation 
in  the  control  of  the  Birchard  Library;  and  he  revived  his  mem 
bership  in  the  Odd  Fellows  Lodge,2  and  joined  a  Grand  Army 

1  Mr.  Hayes  thought  the  country  had  no  need  to  trouble  itself  about  the 
future  fate  of  ex-Presidents.  The  following  letter  to  William  O.  Stoddard,  who 
was  writing  his  biography  for  The  Lives  of  the  Presidents  series,  gives  his  views:  — 

FREMONT,  OHIO,  February,  1889. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  The  message  of  Governor  Hill  has  started  again  the  discus 
sion  as  to  what  is  to  become  of  ex-Presidents?  Would  it  not  be  well,  if  you  have 
not,  to  give  a  chapter  to  that  topic?  Governor  Hill  suggests  life  senatorships  for 
the  ex-Presidents.  This,  as  I  see  it,  is  wholly  inadmissible.  The  Senate  is  already 
burdened  with  the  great  inequality  between  such  States  as  Delaware,  Florida, 
Nevada,  on  the  one  side,  and  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio,  on  the  other. 
Besides,  there  is  a  new  peril.  The  Senate  is  becoming  the  rich  man's  place.  Now 
add  to  this  life  members,  and  you  have  a  condition  so  inconsistent  with  the  prin 
ciples  of  popular  government  that  the  abolition  or  radical  change  of  the  Senate 
would  soon  come.  Just  think  of  a  Senate,  when  the  Rebellion  was  on,  with  a  list 
of  life  members  like  this,  namely,  Buchanan,  Fillmore,  Pierce,  Tyler,  and  Van 
Buren!  Of  course,  I  mean  no  reflection  on  these  eminent  men.  But  the  possible 
extent  of  the  evil  is  indicated.  New  Hampshire  with  three  Senators,  New  York 
with  four,  Pennsylvania  with  three,  Virginia  with  three,  and  the  excess,  above 
other  States,  for  life.  Would  it  not  cause  discontent? 

On  the  other  hand,  let  the  President  when  he  leaves  his  office  take  a  manly 
view  of  the  situation.  Let  him  become  a  citizen  again.  It  is  stated  that  Mr. 
Cleveland  will  return  to  the  practice  of  his  profession.  I  hope  he  will.  It  will  be  a 
noble  answer  to  the  question.  He  is  only  six  or  seven  years  out  of  his  law-office 
and  can  return  to  it.  I  should  have  done  so  if  I  could.  But  I  was  twenty  years 
out  of  practice.  Leaving  for  the  war  in  1861,  and  an  ex-President  in  1881 ,  it  would 
have  been  an  uphill  business  to  return  to  the  law.  But  I  would  like  to  see  my 
short  speech  to  my  neighbors  when  they  welcomed  me  home  in  1881  set  out  in 
full,  and  then  a  short  and  unobtrusive  showing  of  what  has  been  done  to  carry 
it  out  in  practice.  Indeed,  I  am  quite  as  content  with  what  I  have  succeeded  in 
doing  an  an  ex-President  as  with  any  other  part  of  my  life. 

Too  much  of  this  —  in  haste  as  you  see.  —  Sincerely, 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 
MR.  WILLIAM  O.  STODDARD, 

HEMPSTEAD,  LONG  ISLAND,  N.Y. 

2  "Last  evening  I  rejoined  Croghan  Lodge,  I.O.O.F.  I  belonged  to  it  when 
I  left  Fremont  in  1849  —  almost  thirty-three  years  ago.  Without  an  especial 


THE  RETURN  TO  SPIEGEL  GROVE          337 

Post,  attending  the  meetings  of  both  regularly  and  doing  his  full 
part  in  their  undertakings.1  When  the  Methodists  decided  to 
build  a  new  church  he  bore  one  fourth  of  the  expense;  and  when, 
not  many  years  later,  this  structure  was  burned,  he  contributed 
a  like  proportion  of  the  cost  of  its  reconstruction.  Nor  did  he 
limit  his  interest  in  the  church  life  of  the  town  to  the  Methodist 
Communion,  but  gave  encouragement  and  assistance  to  the 
other  churches,  Catholic  2  as  well  as  Protestant,  assured  that 
all  were  doing  God's  service  in  the  world.  In  every  movement 
for  the  betterment  of  the  community  in  its  business  or  social 
welfare,  or  for  the  relief  of  the  necessitous,  when  sudden  calamity 
came,  he  appeared  among  the  foremost  with  ready  contribution 
and  wise  advice,  preferring  always,  however,  to  act,  not  as  a 
leader,  but  as  a  private  in  the  ranks.  So  he  believed  his  efforts 
would  be  more  effective  and  the  force  of  his  example  would  have 
wider  influence. 

tendency  to '  the  work '  of  secret  societies,  I  have  long  been  satisfied  that  they  were 
in  many  ways  very  useful.  Leaving  out  the  beneficial  feature,  which  is  certainly 
valuable,  the  social  and  educational  elements  are  excellent.  All  descriptions  of 
reputable  people  are  here  brought  together  and  instructed  in  the  orderly  man 
agement  of  public  business.  All  are  on  their  best  behavior,  a  fraternal  friend 
ship  is  cultivated,  virtuous  and  temperate  habits  are  encouraged,  and  the  best 
of  our  social  instincts  are  called  into  play.  The  festive  organizations,  convivial 
clubs,  and  the  like  are  not  safe  places  of  resort  for  all  natures.  No  man  can  be 
worse  for  the  associations  of  Odd  Fellowship  and  their  kindred  organizations. 
Most  men  will  be  made  better.  With  this  perhaps  too  moderate  estimate  of  the 
society,  I  am  glad  to  unite  with  it  again."  (Diary,  January  1,  1882.) 

1  He  was  also  chosen  to  the  board  of  directors  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Fremont  and  to  the  board  of  the  Oakwood  Cemetery. 

2  "This  evening  attended  on  the  urgent  request  of  Father  Bauer  a  banquet  to 
the  State  Council  of  the  Catholic  Knights  of  America.  .  .  .  My  speech,  humor 
ous,  offhand,  and  in  recognition  of  Catholic  friends  in  the  war  —  Rosecrans, 
Scammon,  etc.  —  exceedingly  well  received."    (Diary,  September  9,  1890.) 

"Since  my  speech  before  the  Catholic  Knights  I  have  thought  of  a  better  one. 
The  bones  of  it  are:  I  am  a  Protestant,  born  a  Protestant,  expect  to  live  a 
Protestant,  and  shall  probably  die  a  Protestant.  I  can  see  in  the  past,  and  to-day, 
faults  in  the  Catholic  Church,  but  I  am  grateful  for  (1)  its  work  in  behalf  of 
temperance;  (2)  its  example  in  keeping  together  poor  and  rich;  care  for  the  poor; 
influence  with  the  poor;  (3)  for  its  treatment  of  the  blacks;  of  all  the  unfortunate 
races.  A  negro  sat  with  us  at  our  banquet  table;  (4)  for  its  fidelity  in  spite  of 
party  —  nineteen  twentieths  were  against  Lincoln;  but  Archbishop  Purcell 
strung  the  American  flag,  in  the  crisis  of  our  fate,  from  the  top  of  the  Cathedral  in 
Cincinnati  April  16,  18611  The  spire  was  beautiful  before,  but  the  Catholic 
prelate  made  it  radiant  with  hope  and  glory  for  our  country ! "  (Diary,  September 
11,  1890.) 


CHAPTER  XL 

PHILANTHROPIC  ACTIVITIES 

Tl  7HATEVER  affected  the  welfare  of  the  men  that  had 
V  V  served  in  the  Union  armies,  or  was  intended  to  preserve 
and  ennoble  the  memory  of  their  service,  was  of  abiding  interest 
to  Mr.  Hayes.  So  great  had  been  the  accomplishment  of  the 
war  in  securing  the  very  fabric  of  our  institutions,  that  he  be 
lieved  the  debt  of  gratitude  due  the  men  that  had  risked  their 
lives  in  bringing  it  about  could  not  be  overestimated.  The 
country,  therefore,  he  held,  should  be  more  than  liberal  in 
caring  for  the  old  soldiers  and  their  widows  and  orphans.1  No 

1  It  was  on  this  principle  that  he  had  signed  the  Arrears  of  Pensions'  Bill  while 
he  was  President,  an  act  for  which  he  was  at  the  time  much  criticized  by  Demo 
crats  and  strait-laced  reformers.  In  a  letter  to  William  Henry  Smith,  of  Decem 
ber  14,  1881,  Mr.  Hayes  wrote:  "The  thing  I  would  talk  of,  if  I  ever  defended  or 
denied  or  explained,  is  the  Arrears  of  Pensions'  Act.  That  act  was  required  by 
good  faith.  The  soldiers  had  the  pledge  of  the  Government  and  the  people. 
Congress,  State  Legislatures,  messages,  the  press  —  everybody  assured  the  sol 
dier  that  if  disabled  in  the  line  of  duty  he  would  be  pensioned.  The  pensions  were 
due  from  the  date  of  disability,  if  discharged  on  account  of  it,  and  from  the  date  of 
such  discharge.  The  act  was  passed  by  practically  a  unanimous  vote.  A  veto 
would  have  been  in  vain.  But  I  signed  it  not  because  to  veto  it  would  have  been 
ineffectual,  but  because  it  was  right.  It  was  a  measure  necessary  to  keep  faith 
with  the  soldier.  I  had  fought  repudiation  on  the  bond  question.  Here  was  a 
failure  to  pay  a  sacred  debt  to  the  national  defenders.  We  could  not  afford  —  we 
ought  not  —  to  haggle  with  them.  Suppose  there  was  danger  of  fraud.  Was 
there  no  fraud  in  raising  the  revenue  to  pay  the  bonds?  Whiskey  and  other 
frauds?  Defective  legislation  is  largely  the  cause  of  the  frauds  complained  of. 
Secretary  Schurz  recommended  the  remedy.  Again  and  again  it  was  endorsed  by 
me.  Let  the  witnesses  in  pension  cases  be  subjected  to  cross-examination  by  the 
Government  and  the  greater  part  of  the  frauds  would  be  prevented.  The  failure 
of  Government  to  protect  itself  against  frauds  is  no  reason  for  evading  just  obliga 
tions.  It  is  said  the  amount  to  be  paid  is  larger  than  was  anticipated.  That  is  no 
reason  for  repudiating  the  obligation.  The  amount  is  small  compared  with  other 
war  expenditures  and  debts.  And  the  frauds  and  hardships  upon  Government 
are  less  than  in  many  other  items  of  unquestioned  obligation.  We  can't  make 
fish  of  one  and  flesh  of  another  creditor.  Look  at  the  good  done.  In  every  county 
in  the  North  are  humble  but  comfortable  homes  built  by  the  soldier  out  of  his 
arrearage  pay.  They  are  in  sight  from  the  desk  at  which  I  write.  I  would  do  it 
again.  But  I  will  keep  silent,  and  don't  want  to  be  quoted.  If  nobody  says  what 
ought  to  be  said  in  Congress  or  the  press,  I  will  speak  at  some  soldier  meeting, 
and  print." 


PHILANTHROPIC  ACTIVITIES  339 

deserving  old  soldier  ever  appealed  to  him  in  vain  for  personal 
assistance  or  for  aid  in  obtaining  a  pension.  Thus  it  was  quite 
in  the  nature  of  things  that  he  should  not  approve  of  President 
Cleveland's  attitude  toward  pensions.  There  seemed  to  be  in  it 
too  much  of  the  cheeseparing  quality.  The  country  was  so  rich 
and  prosperous,  and  its  wealth  and  prosperity  grew  so  directly 
out  of  the  success  of  the  Union  arms,  that  it  could  afford  to  be 
generous  to  its  defenders  even  at  the  risk  of  benefiting  some 
individuals  that  might  be  unworthy.1 

Every  year  Mr.  Hayes  with  Mrs.  Hayes  attended  the  reunion 

1  "As  to  pensions  I  would  say  our  Union  soldiers  fought  in  the  divinest  war 
that  was  ever  waged.  Our  war  did  more  for  our  country  than  any  other  war  ever 
achieved  for  any  other  country.  It  did  more  for  the  world  —  more  for  mankind 
—  than  any  other  war  in  all  history.  It  gave  to  those  who  remained  at  home, 
and  to  those  who  came  after  it  in  our  country,  opportunities,  prosperity,  wealth, 
a  future,  such  as  no  war  ever  before  conferred  on  any  part  of  the  human  race. 

"No  soldier  who  fought  in  that  war  on  the  right  side  nor  his  widow  nor  his 
orphans  ought  ever  to  be  forced  to  choose  between  starvation  and  the  poorhouse. 
Lincoln,  in  his  last  inaugural  address,  —  just  before  the  war  closed,  —  when  the 
last  enlistments  were  going  on,  pledged  the  nation  '  to  care  for  him  who  shall  have 
borne  the  battle  and  for  his  widow  and  his  orphan.'  Let  that  sacred  pledge  be 
sacredly  kept."  (Diary,  February  25,  1887.) 

At  the  same  time  Mr.  Hayes  was  ready  to  show  practical  sympathy  with  the 
disabled  soldiers  of  the  Confederacy,  as  witness  the  following  letter:  — 

FREMONT,  OHIO,  15  March,  1889. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  thank  you  for  the  privilege  of  uniting  with  the  New  York 
Citizens'  Committee  in  their  patriotic  and  charitable  work  in  behalf  of  the  dis 
abled  and  destitute  soldiers  of  the  late  Confederacy. 

The  time  is  plainly  drawing  near  (if  it  has  not  already  come)  when  justice  to 
its  defenders  will  require  the  National  Government  to  expend  much  larger  sums 
than  have  heretofore  been  appropriated  for  the  support  of  the  men  who  saved  it. 
The  sacred  obligations  to  the  Union  soldiers  must  not  —  will  not  —  be  forgotten 
nor  neglected,  especially  by  those  who  have  shared  in  fullest  measure  the  pros 
perity  which  has  come  from  the  services  and  sacrifices  of  those  who  stood  by  the 
Government  when  it  was  imperilled. 

But  those  who  fought  against  the  nation  cannot  and  do  not  look  to  it  for  relief. 
Their  disabled  and  destitute  comrades  are  left  to  the  generosity  and  benefactions 
of  their  more  fortunate  fellow  citizens  who  wisely  forecast  the  inspiring  future  of 
our  country.  Confederate  soldiers  and  their  descendants  are  to  share  with  us  and 
our  descendants  the  destiny  of  America.  Whatever,  therefore,  we  their  fellow 
citizens  can  do  to  remove  burdens  from  their  shoulders  and  to  brighten  their  lives 
is  surely  in  the  pathway  of  humanity  and  patriotism. 

With  my  contribution  to  the  enterprise  I  beg  you  to  accept  also  my  best  wishes 
for  its  success.  I  remain  sincerely, 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 

MR.  OLIVER  DOWNING, 
Secretary. 


340  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

of  his  old  regiment,  when  the  glorious  fighting  days  in  Virginia 
and  Maryland  were  lived  over  again  in  reminiscence  and  anec 
dote  and  song.  He  was  long  president  of  the  Army  of  West 
Virginia.  He  participated  also,  on  invitation,  in  the  reunions 
of  many  other  regiments,  and  in  the  larger  reunions  of  corps  and 
armies.  Invariably  on  such  occasions  unusual  attentions  were 
shown  him,  and  his  patriotic  speeches,  often  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment,  never  failed  to  stir  the  hearts  of  his  auditors.  From 
Grand  Army  posts  near  and  far  came  frequent  requests  to  Mr. 
Hayes  to  speak  on  Memorial  Day,  or  at  monument  dedications, 
or  on  other  special  occasions.  These  he  never  refused,  however 
inconvenient  they  might  be,  unless  other  engagements  made 
acceptance  impossible.  In  his  scores  of  speeches  on  these  occa 
sions  he  was  accustomed  to  dwell  on  the  large  results  of  the 
war,1  on  the  great  principles  that  were  at  stake  and  that  came 
forth  from  the  fiery  ordeal  fairer  and  more  potent  than  before; 
and  then  to  plead  for  the  assuagement  of  sectional  bitterness 
and  antagonism,  for  complete  reconciliation  and  for  unity  of  na 
tional  feeling  and  aspirations.2  He  rejoiced  at  what  he  had  been 
able  while  President  to  do  to  these  noble  ends;  that  it  had  been 

1  "By  the  results  of  our  war  we  are  made  the  guardians  of  the  peace  of  the 
world.     The  world's  highest  interest  is  in  our  custody  —  our  sacred  keeping. 
We  are  to  have  the  place  of  the  great  pacific  power.   Germany  or  Russia  is 
the  great  warlike  power.    Great  Britain  is  the  great  naval  power.   But  we  are  the 
peacemaker,  if  we  intelligently  and  wisely  take  advantage  of  the  results  of  the 
War  for  the  Union."   (Diary,  June  25,  1887.) 

2  "During  theG.A.R.  encampment  [at  Steubenville]  the  weather  was  simply 
perfect.  The  people  of  the  town  were  patriotic  and  generous.    The  only  thing  to 
disturb  was  the  disposition  of  one  or  two  men  to  scold  the  South  —  to  discuss 
irritating  topics  in  an  ill-tempered  way.  This  is  in  bad  taste  —  is  bad  policy  and 
bad  in  principle.  Silence  on  that  which  breeds  ill  temper  is  the  true  course.  The 
Southern  people  are  our  countrymen.  They  displayed  great  endurance  and  cour 
age  —  great  military  traits  of  character  —  during  the  war.  Let  us  now,  as  soon 
as  possible,  bring  them  into  good  relations  with  those  who  fought  them.    Let 
us  become  one  people."   (Diary,  April  30,  1891.) 

"At  the  G.A.R.  there  was  a  little  demagoguery  in  the  way  of  keeping  alive  the 
bitterness  of  the  war.  A  motion  was  made  and  carried  against  the  purchase  of 
Chickamauga  battlefield,  against  Rebel  monuments,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.  The  truth  is, 
the  men  of  the  South  believed  in  their  theory  of  the  Constitution;  there  was 
plausibility  —  perhaps  more  than  plausibility  —  in  the  States'  rights  doctrine 
under  the  terms,  and  in  the  history,  of  the  Constitution.  Lee  and  Jackson  are 
not,  in  the  moral  character  of  their  deeds,  to  be  classed  with  Benedict  Arnold. 
They  fought  for  their  convictions,  for  their  country  as  they  had  been  educated 
to  regard  it.  Let  them  be  mistaken,  and  treated  accordingly.  Their  military 


O  on 

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PHILANTHROPIC  ACTIVITIES  341 

fruitful  in  continuing  effect;  and  that  gradually,  under  the  heal 
ing  influence  of  time  and  the  increasing  business  and  social 
intercourse  of  North  and  South,  old  prejudices  were  fading 
away  and  ancient  animosities  were  ceasing  to  vex  men's  souls. 
For  example,  in  an  address  at  the  reunion  of  the  Seventy-second 
Ohio  Regiment  at  Fremont,  in  September,  1886,  Mr.  Hayes 
uttered  these  words :  — 

Wars  are  tested  in  many  ways.  On  the  commonest  plane  in  which 
you  can  put  it  this  war  will  stand  the  test.  The  French  proverb  is, 
"Success  succeeds."  Try  it  by  that.  Test  this  war  by  its  results.  It 
is  the  greatest  war  in  history.  Never  before  was  there  a  war  in  which 
the  object  of  the  war  was  so  fully  and  so  completely  achieved.  Con 
sider  exactly  what  it  was  you  were  thinking  of  —  what  we  thought  to 
do  —  what  we  wished,  what  we  hoped  for  —  what  we  fought  for.  From 
the  beginning  the  question  was,  whether  these  States  had  come  to 
gether  to  stay,  or  whether  each  was  an  independent  sovereign  to  come 
and  go  at  its  own  sweet  will. 

We  went  to  war  to  settle  that  question.  We  fought  to  save  the  Union. 
When  the  war  was  ended  that  question  was  settled  forever,  and  graven 
into  the  granite  upon  which  the  nation  rests,  that  hereafter  no  State 
of  this  Union  will  ever  attempt  to  resist  the  constitutional  authority 
of  the  United  States. 

Again,  it  was  always  a  question  which  was  the  greatest  government, 
the  State  or  the  Nation.  To  which  was  the  highest  allegiance  due,  to 
the  State  or  the  Nation?  The  Southerners  held  that  the  State  was 
sovereign ;  we  believed  in  the  sovereignty  of  the  United  States.  When 
the  war  was  ended,  where  was  that  question?  There  was  no  question 
left.  It  was  settled  and  settled  forever  that  every  inch  of  soil  of  the 
United  States  belongs  forever  more  to  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 

And  then  there  was  a  third  question.  They  believed  that  the  corner 
stone  of  liberty  was  slavery.  We  believed  that  the  corner-stone  of  the 
Republic  was  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  which  gives  equal 
rights  to  all  men,  and  we  fought  it  out,  and  when  the  war  was  ended, 
was  there  any  doubt  about  it?  Never  again  in  this  country,  nor  in  any 

genius  and  heroism  make  the  glory  of  the  Union  triumph."  (Diary,  May  2, 
1891.) 

"Major  McKinley  visited  me.  He  is  on  a  stumping  tour  and  came  from 
Sandusky  last  evening  and  spent  the  night  with  us.  ...  I  criticized  the  bloody 
shirt  course  of  the  canvass.  It  seems  to  me  to  be  bad  'polities'  and  of  no  use. 
This,  even  supposing  it  was  sound  in  itself.  The  people  are  weary  of  it.  It  is  a 
stale  issue.  An  increasing  number  of  people  are  interested  in  good  relations 
with  the  South.  This  tends  to  keep  alive  animosities.  Two  ways  are  open  to 
succeed  in  the  South:  (1)  A  division  of  the  white  votes;  (2)  education  of  the 
ignorant.  Bloody  shirt  utterances  prevent  division,  etc."  (Diary,  September  11, 
1885.) 


342  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

civilized  country,  will  "the  false  and  fatal  phantasy"  be  found,  "that 
man  can  hold  property  in  man."  That  was  settled  and  settled  forever. 
Now,  these  are  three  things  that  we  thought  of  and  fought  about. 

And  was  there  ever  a  war  in  all  history  in  which  the  results  were  so 
exactly  obtained  as  in  this  war  for  the  Union? 

But  there  is  another  proposition  or  point  that  I  always  make,  when 
talking  to  soldiers,  and  that  is  that,  looking  into  the  dim  future,  we  were 
blind.  We  did  not  see  what  now  we  are  beginning  to  see,  better  and 
more  clearly  with  every  revolving  year.  It  is  plain  now  to  all  the  world 
that  we  achieved,  not  merely  what  we  conscientiously  fought  for,  but 
that  the  results  obtained  transcend  beyond  measure  the  wildest  antici 
pations  of  the  friends  of  the  Union.  Why,  take  just  one  thing.  Did 
we  think  or  dream,  as  we  were  fighting,  that  it  was  to  make  this  nation 
the  greatest  nation  on  the  globe?  Did  we  think  that  it  was  to  give  us  a 
prestige  everywhere  that  we  never  had  before,  and  one  that  we  could 
not  have  had  without  that  war? 

Furthermore  there  was  this  one  result  which  separates  this  war  from 
all  other  wars  of  history;  and  that  is:  That  the  conquered  people  gained 
more  by  our  victory  than  victory  in  any  other  war  ever  gave  to  the 
victors.  But  it  does  not  need  argument;  you  all  see  it  as  plain  as  sun 
light.  At  the  South  they  are  set  free.  Education  comes  to  them  all. 
There  was  no  general  education  there  before.  Equal  advantages  come 
to  all.  Wealth  comes  pouring  in.  We  do  not,  of  course,  have  every 
thing  now  within  twenty -four  hours  just  as  we  know  it  will  be  in  two 
or  three  generations.  There  are  some  people  soon  hot  and  soon  cold, 
that  others  look  to,  who  think  we  move  too  slowly.  The  Southern  peo 
ple  are  doing  very  well,  both  black  and  white,  considering  that  they 
had  been  cursed  with  slavery  so  long.  I  repeat  that  our  lately  mis 
guided  brethren  of  the  South  are  doing  very  well.1 

And  following  is  the  peroration  of  his  address  at  Columbus, 
Ohio,  Memorial  Day,  1892:  — 

Another  lesson  inculcated  by  the  war  is  for  America  still  more  im 
portant.  All  wars  educate.  Of  our  war  it  has  been  said:  "Ideas  were 
behind  the  cannon  and  pointed  the  musket."  Abraham  Lincoln  was  the 
very  incarnation  of  these  ideas,  and  they  are  at  once  the  secret  and  the 
sure  foundation  of  the  enduring  place  which  he  holds  in  the  affections  of 
all  good  men  and  women.  The  sentiments  which  filled  his  soul  and  were 
the  guide  of  his  life  were :  Humanity  —  anxious  solicitude  for  the  wel 
fare  of  his  fellow  men;  sympathy  with  the  suffering  and  the  oppressed; 
hatred  of  wrong  to  the  humblest  human  being,  and  our  common  brother 
hood.  The  lesson  of  his  wonderful  life  contains  almost  the  whole  future 
of  our  country.  It  is  short  and  simple.  Our  America  to-day  is  draw 
ing  near  to  the  parting  of  the  roads.  Dazzled  almost  to  blindness  by 

1  This  quotation  has  been  somewhat  condensed. 


PHILANTHROPIC  ACTIVITIES  343 

contemplation  of  the  unrivalled  swiftness  and  splendor  of  her  march 
to  prestige,  to  power,  and  to  riches,  our  country  may  be  tempted  to 
reject,  or  may  neglect  the  message  of  Lincoln. 

That  message  was  often  repeated  by  him  in  words,  and  always  ex 
hibited  in  his  life  from  his  earliest  to  his  latest  days  on  earth.  It  can 
easily  be  given  in  a  single  sentence.  His  whole  life,  his  very  being, 
seemed  to  say  to  his  country:  "See  to  it  that  every  son  and  daughter  of 
our  Republic,  so  far  as  human  laws  and  conduct  avail,  shall  have  an 
equal  chance  and  a  fair  start  in  the  race  of  life."  Knowledge  is  power 
and  property  is  power.  The  Republic  means  opportunity  —  the  equal 
opportunity  to  get  knowledge  which  in  the  long  run  commands  prop 
erty.  The  practical  meaning  of  Lincoln's  maxim  is  therefore,  let  all 
the  children  of  the  Republic  have  an  equal  opportunity  for  the  best 
education  which  their  natural  faculties  fit  them  to  receive!  Reject  or 
neglect  this  and  our  government  ceases  to  be  republican  except  in  name, 
and  that  doom  which  the  Almighty  has  appointed  for  all  shams  is  not 
far  off.  On  the  other  hand,  let  the  American  people  remain  steadfastly 
true  to  the  ideas  for  which  they  fought  in  the  sacred  war,  and  we  shall 
thus  do  all  that  in  us  lies  to  link  the  destiny  of  our  country  to  the  stars, 
and  to  entitle  her  institutions  to  share  in  that  immortality  which,  under 
the  allotment  of  Providence  in  the  affairs  of  nations,  belongs  always  and 
only  to  eternal  wisdom  and  eternal  justice.1 

Similar  ideas  found  expression  also  in  his  numerous  speeches 
at  Loyal  Legion  gatherings.  Soon  after  his  return  from  Wash 
ington  the  Loyal  Legion  of  Ohio,  with  headquarters  at  Cincin 
nati,  made  him  its  commander.  This  post  he  held  for  several 
years  despite  the  inconvenience  it  involved  of  frequent  journeys 
to  Cincinnati.2  Then  the  national  body,  of  which  he  was  senior 

1  On  another  occasion  he  said:  "Our  Civil  War  gave  to  us  and  to  the  world  a 
much-needed  lesson.  In  the  hardest  stress  of  the  war  the  private  soldier  and  the 
private  citizen  in  the  field  and  in  civil  affairs  were  often  wiser  and  firmer  than 
many  of  the  generals  and  statesmen.  The  masterly  leadership  of  President  Lin 
coln  was  rooted  in  his  perfect  knowledge  of  the  people  and  in  his  implicit  trust  in 
their  heroic  and  enduring  patriotism.  On  this  rock  stands  the  United  States. 
Our  political  differences  no  longer  touch  the  fundamental  principles  or  even  the 
forms  of  our  institutions.  Hereafter  our  party  conflicts  will  be  over  questions  of 
administration.  Important  questions  undoubtedly,  but  they  are  not  vital;  they 
are  ephemeral,  and  may  be  decided,  for  the  time,  either  way  without  involving 
the  life  of  the  Republic  or  the  form  of  our  government.  The  United  States  has 
entered  upon  a  career  which  is  open  to  no  other  great  nation.  Here  the  people 
with  almost  entire  unanimity  believe  that  our  form  of  government  is  for  us  better 
than  any  other,  and  are  satisfied  with  the  principles  on  which  it  rests." 

1  "The  installation  as  commander  of  the  Loyal  Legion  will  take  place  to 
morrow  evening,  Wednesday,  3  June.  This  is  my  third  election  to  the  place.  All 
know  how  much  I  value  the  service  we  rendered  together  during  those  long,  anx 
ious,  critical  but  golden  years  from  1861  to  1865.  Tested  by  its  results,  it  is  the 


344  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

vice-commander,  at  its  annual  meeting  in  Philadelphia  in  1888, 
without  a  dissenting  vote,  elected  him  commander-in-chief  to 
succeed  General  Sheridan.1  In  this  capacity  he  served  the  order 
to  the  end  of  his  life,  presiding  at  the  national  meetings  and 
giving  much  time  and  attention  to  the  promotion  of  its  interests 
and  the  furtherance  of  its  patriotic  purposes.  An  indication  of 
the  kind  of  speeches  he  made  on  Loyal  Legion  occasions  is 
afforded  by  the  following  condensed  version  of  his  address  at 
Indianapolis,  December  19,  1888:  — 

Companions,  —  The  Military  Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion  of  the 
United  States  is  writing  the  history  and  biography  of  the  war  for  the 

greatest  war  of  all  history.  America  was  indeed  the  cradle  of  the  future.  In  great 
peril  our  Republic  and  our  America  might  have  been  destroyed  and  would  have 
been  destroyed  but  for  the  work  we  did.  After  that  work  it  no  longer  was  a 
cradle  —  it  was  no  longer  a  possibility:  it  became  a  probability.  With  wisdom 
and  moderation  it  became  a  certainty.  And  that  certainty  was  and  is  that 
America  is  the  impregnable  fortress  of  whatever  is  best  in  the  world  in  govern 
ment,  in  society,  and  in  civilization.  Our  society,  the  most  permanent  of  all 
soldier  organizations,  stands  on  this  matchless  service  as  its  origin,  its  founda 
tion,  and  its  reason  for  being."  (Diary,  June  2,  1885.) 

1  General  Hayes  had  said  to  members  that  consulted  him  that  he  thought 
either  General  Sherman  or  General  Schofield  should  be  elected;  that  he  would 
not  take  the  place  unless  it  was  given  with  substantial  unanimity,  without  con 
test.  He  was  told,  "Then  you  will  be  elected,  for  all  want  you."  When  General 
Joshua  L.  Chamberlain  rose  to  make  the  nomination,  he  expressed  embarrass 
ment  that  in  saying  what  he  proposed  he  "must  offend  the  modesty  of  the  hon 
ored  companion  who  presides  over  this  meeting."  Whereupon  General  Hayes  left 
the  chair  and  retired  from  the  room.  General  Chamberlain  said:  "I  offer  the 
nomination  in  the  interests  of  this  society.  However  fitly  we  might  recognize  the 
merits  of  some  one  of  the  distinguished  officers  of  the  regular  service  whom  we 
have  now,  I  am  sure,  in  our  minds  and  hearts,  we  present  here  a  man  who  has 
been  commander-in-chief  both  of  the  army  and  navy.  However  honorably  we 
might  be  represented  abroad  by  placing  at  our  head  a  veteran  and  hero  of  the  war 
whose  name  is  known  in  all  lands,  we  shall  miss  nothing  of  honor  in  choosing  for 
this  position  one  to  whom,  by  reason  of  his  gallant  service  and  of  his  distin 
guished  ability  and  character,  were  committed  the  highest  trusts  of  his  country  at 
a  critical  period  of  her  history.  Sir,  this  is  most  truly  a  historical  society.  Noble 
records  that  have  been  made  are  to  be  nobly  kept.  The  power  of  noble  deeds  is  to 
be  preserved  and  passed  on  to  the  future.  And  what  better  recognition  of  our 
own  place  and  service,  what  brighter  link  in  the  continuity  of  our  own  history, 
what  better  pledge  of  our  loyalty  and  faith  both  to  the  past  and  to  the  future, 
than  that  in  the  honored  roll  at  the  head  of  our  society,  chosen  from  among  those 
who  have  led  our  armies  in  war,  we  place  the  name  of  one  who  was  called  to  the 
exercise  of  highest  authority  in  realizing  its  consummation,  and  securing  its 
consequences:  one  to  whose  hands  it  was  given  to  guide  the  final  steps  in  the 
restoration  of  the  civil  order,  the  reconstruction  of  disabled  States,  and  the 
regeneration  of  the  Republic?" 


PHILANTHROPIC  ACTIVITIES  345 

Union,  and  on  such  a  scale  that  they  will  soon  fill  many  volumes.  Its 
own  story  can  easily  be  told  within  the  limits  of  a  few  pages. 

In  the  very  hour  of  the  rapture  and  ecstasy  of  our  full  and  final  tri 
umph  in  the  great  conflict,  the  cruel  tidings  came  that  seemed  for  a  time 
to  blast  it  all  forever.  What  was  victory  without  Lincoln?  Where  was 
hope  with  Lincoln  murdered?  In  the  midst  of  the  sadness  and  almost 
despair  that  settled  down  upon  all  minds  and  hearts  and  in  that  deep 
gloom,  —  in  that  darkness  that  could,  indeed,  be  felt,  —  a  little  band  of 
patriots  of  the  war,  in  the  loyal  city  of  Philadelphia,  recalled  the  exam 
ple  of  the  Revolutionary  fathers  and  imitated  the  action  of  Washington 
and  his  officers  of  the  Continental  Army,  when  they  were  about  to  bid 
each  other  farewell  at  the  end  of  the  long,  hard  contest  of  the  War  for 
Independence. 

The  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  was  the  unquestioned  prototype  of  the 
Military  Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion.  The  place,  the  time,  the  model 
chosen,  and  the  sentiment  which  sought  and  found  expression  in  its 
organization  are  all  fitting  and  noble.  What  will  be  its  future?  What 
will  be  its  influence  on  its  members  and  our  countrymen,  and  especially 
upon  the  young  who  are  growing  up  to  take  our  places?  It  is  not,  and 
it  will  not  be,  a  political  organization.  We  understand  very  well  that 
free  government  is  of  necessity  a  government  by  means  of  political 
parties.  We  also  understand  perfectly  that  men  who  have  stood  by 
their  convictions  on  the  perilous  edge  of  battle  are  not  likely  to  be 
neutrals  in  the  political  conflicts  of  their  day.  But  our  organization 
stands  on  a  sentiment  that  can  easily  bear  the  severest  possible  strain 
due  to  sectarian  or  partisan  feelings.  The  Loyal  Legion  is  essentially 
the  organic  expression  of  our  comradeship  in  a  sacred  war.  Said  General 
Harrison,  "Politics  cannot  break  the  bond  of  comradeship."  In  this 
the  general  made  no  mistake.  It  does  not  even  dim  the  brightness  of  the 
links  that  unite  us.  They  were  welded  when  we  stood  together  as  com 
rades  on  holy  ground,  fighting  for  eternal  right.  Where  is  holy  ground? 
If  anywhere  it  is  where  man  freely  dies  for  his  fellow  man.  That  sublime 
privilege  was  the  crown  of  Lincoln's  fame.  And  we  of  the  Loyal  Legion 
and  our  comrades  of  the  Grand  Army  can  reverently  thank  God  that  we 
were  permitted  to  stand  by  Lincoln  in  the  deadly  crisis  of  our  nation's 
history. 

I  repeat  the  question,  What  shall  be  the  teaching  of  the  Loyal  Legion? 
Ideas  rule  the  world.  It  goes  without  saying  that  the  ideas  wre  fought 
for  are  the  principles  of  the  Loyal  Legion.  Those  ideas  without  regard 
to  the  sect  or  party  of  our  choice  we  hold  to. 

The  Union  of  the  fathers  was  imperilled  by  secession.  Our  faith  is  that 
the  American  Republic,  in  the  language  of  the  Supreme  Court,  is  "an 
indestructible  Union  of  indestructible  States." 

The  general  Government  was  threatened  by  the  doctrine  that  the 
allegiance  of  the  citizen  was  due  only  to  his  State.  Our  faith  is  that  the 
citizen's  allegiance  is  to  the  United  States,  and  that  the  United  States 
is  in  authority  and  duty,  in  the  fullest  possible  sense,  a  nation. 


346  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

The  contention  of  our  adversaries  was  that  slavery  was  national, 
perpetual,  and  of  Divine  origin.  Our  faith  is  that  no  statute  and  no  con 
stitution  can  make  valid  "the  false  and  fatal  phantasy  that  man  can 
hold  property  in  man." 

By  reason  of  their  peculiar  institution  in  the  slaveholding  States 
education  was  within  the  reach  of  only  the  few  who  were  rich.  But  for 
the  white  man  who  was  poor  it  was  not  provided,  and  for  the  colored 
man  it  was  not  simply  denied,  but  by  solemn  enactments  was  made  a 
crime.  The  faith  of  the  Loyal  Legion  is  that  universal  suffrage  is  essen 
tial  to  liberty,  and  that  there  can  be  no  fitting  exercise  and  no  full 
enjoyment  of  the  right  of  suffrage  without  universal  education. 

Above  all,  our  faith  is  in  America.  We  believe  in  the  study  of  Amer 
ica,  of  its  history,  of  its  geography,  and  of  the  lives  of  its  men  and  of  its 
women.  We  believe  in  American  principles,  in  American  music  and 
songs  and  tunes.  We  believe  in  the  American  home  and  in  the  character 
and  the  virtue  of  the  American  women  which  make  American  homes 
happy. 

Finally,  one  of  the  mistakes  of  the  Rebellion  was  unduly  to  exalt 
what  they  called  "Sovereign  States."  They  thought  each  State  should 
have  its  own  flag  for  its  people  to  gaze  upon  and  to  admire  and  love. 
The  faith  of  the  Loyal  Legion  is  the  reverse  of  all  this.  We  believe  that 
the  whole  of  the  American  Republic  —  every  State  and  every  acre  in 
every  State  belongs  to  one  flag,  "  the  old  flag  "  —  the  Stars  and  Stripes  — 
the  flag  of  Washington  and  of  Lincoln  —  the  flag  of  the  United  States. 

Already  while  Governor,  Mr.  Hayes  had  come  to  see  the  need 
of  more  humane  and  more  scientific  methods  in  dealing  with 
men  imprisoned  for  crime.  He  had  much  correspondence  with 
the  Reverend  E.  C.  Wines,  the  well-known  prison  reformer  of 
New  York,  and  he  sought  to  inform  himself  of  the  prison  systems 
in  other  States  and  countries.  He  presided,  while  Governor,  at 
the  first  National  Prison  Congress,  held  at  Cincinnati  in  1870. 
While  he  was  not  deeply  impressed  with  the  notions  of  the 
extreme  sentimentalists,  he  was  convinced  that,  in  prison  disci 
pline,  far  greater  emphasis  should  be  placed  on  efforts  to  re 
form  the  convicts  and  less  on  the  idea  of  retribution,  believing 
that  if  this  were  done  a  greater  proportion,  especially  of  first 
offenders,  would  be  restored  to  useful  citizenship  instead  of 
coming  out  of  prison  hardened  in  their  purpose  to  war  on  so 
ciety.  So  he  had  been  foremost  in  introducing  better  methods 
in  the  penal  system  of  Ohio.  Mr.  Hayes  never  lost  interest  in 
this  subject;  rather  his  interest  was  intensified  alike  by  reason 
of  his  experience  in  the  exercise  of  the  pardoning  power,  —  when 


PHILANTHROPIC  ACTIVITIES  347 

he  steadfastly  leaned  to  the  side  of  mercy  in  all  doubtful  cases 
and  in  dealing  with  first  offenders,  —  and  as  a  result  of  his 
increasing  knowledge  of  penology.  When,  therefore,  in  1883, 
men  seeking  to  revive  the  National  Prison  Association  —  which 
had  been  allowed  to  lapse  after  the  death  in  1879  of  Dr.  Wines, 
to  whom  it  had  owed  its  origin  and  vitality  —  invited  him  to 
become  its  president,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  accept  the  new 
responsibility  and  to  throw  himself  heartily  into  the  work. 

This  position  he  held  during  the  rest  of  his  life,  performing  all 
the  duties  it  involved,  no  matter  how  great  expenditure  of  time 
and  effort  was  required,  with  conscientious  exactness  and  un 
abated  zeal.  In  this  cause  he  had  the  active  cooperation  of  many 
of  the  most  eminent  reformers  of  the  country.  The  association 
each  year  held  a  Prison  Reform  Congress  in  one  of  the  more 
important  cities  of  the  country,  at  which  all  subjects  pertain 
ing  to  prison  methods  and  the  criminal  classes  were  freely  dis 
cussed  by  students  of  penology  and  by  men  engaged  in  the  super 
vision  or  management  of  penal  institutions.  The  principal 
object  of  these  meetings  was  to  arouse  public  interest  by  the 
presentation  of  facts  and  the  suggestion  of  remedies,  and  so  to 
excite  public  opinion  to  demand  the  correction  of  existing  abuses. 
Mr.  Hayes  presided  at  these  meetings  and  opened  the  congress 
each  year  with  an  address,  defining  the  aims  and  purposes  of 
the  association  and  discussing  the  underlying  principles  of  the 
reforms  that  ought  to  be  brought  about.1  These  addresses  were 
uniformly  marked  by  sobriety  of  statement,  by  clear  under 
standing  of  conditions  and  possibilities,  and  by  practical  good 
sense  in  suggestions.  He  deprecated  any  weakening  in  the  ad 
ministration  of  justice.  Rather  he  would  have  greater  vigor 
imparted  to  it  by  more  expeditious  procedure  in  court,  by  the 
elimination  of  politics  from  prison  management,  and  by  wiser 
methods  of  executing  its  judgments  —  methods  which,  what 
ever  severity  they  exacted  at  times,  should  always  be  mindful 
of  the  golden  rule;  should  always  be  exercised  in  a  spirit  of 

1  "He  presides  over  the  most  prolonged  sessions  of  the  congress  with  the 
utmost  ease  and  patience.  No  suggestions  upon  the  topics  of  the  congress  are 
more  valuable  than  his.  His  generalizations  of  what  is  presented  by  others  are 
invaluable."  (Rev.  W.  J.  Batt,  chaplain  Massachusetts  Reformatory,  in  the 
Advance,  December  15,  1892.) 


348  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

humanity  and  just  compassion.   The  quality  of  his  annual  ad 
dresses  is  indicated  by  the  following  brief  quotations :  — 

In  dealing  with  criminals  the  friends  of  prison  reform,  while  they 
remember  that  justice  must  be  tempered  with  mercy  and  that  convicts 
must  never  be  regarded  as  beyond  the  reach  of  human  sympathy,  will 
not  fail  also  to  remember  that  the  virtues  of  mercy  and  sympathy  are 
not  to  be  allowed  to  swallow  up  every  other  virtue.  The  end  aimed  at 
in  legal  punishment,  so  far  as  concerns  the  criminal,  is  not  vengeance, 
not  mercy,  not  absolute  justice.  It  is  the  welfare  of  society.1 

We  believe  that  society  is  so  compacted  together,  that  Providence 
hath  so  ordained  and  doth  so  govern  things  that,  whether  we  would 
have  it  so  or  not,  we  must  be  and  are  our  brothers'  keepers.  No  man's 
family  is  safely  entrenched  against  vice  and  crime  and  the  shame  and 
wretchedness  to  which  they  lead.  Let  the  outcast  and  the  criminal  be 
forgotten  or  disregarded  and  our  whole  society  will  suffer  from  the  taint 
of  human  degradation.  Like  a  blood  poison  it  will  spread  through  and 
through  the  social  system  until  it  reaches  the  heart.  This  serious  and 
mighty  truth  imposes  a  duty  which  no  society  can  afford  to  neglect. 
Civilized  society  cannot  neglect  it  and  live.  No  well-informed  Chris 
tian  society  ever  will  neglect  it.2 

The  chief  aim  in  the  treatment  of  convicts  is  to  protect  society 
against  its  avowed  enemy,  the  criminal.  The  advocates  of  improved 
prisons  and  prison  discipline  add  to  this  a  more  specific  statement. 
They  would  reform  all  convicts  whom  they  can  reform  by  wise  systems 
wisely  administered.  Those  who  cannot  thus  be  reclaimed  should  re 
main  under  their  sentence  of  conviction  where  they  can  support  them 
selves  by  labor  and  do  no  harm  to  society.  Is  this  a  hard  doctrine?  Is 
it  not  just  and  humane  —  is  it  not  good  sense  to  say  as  long  as  you  are 
a  criminal,  so  long  shall  you  be  a  convict?  .  .  .  Our  duty  as  men  and 
Christians  is  to  do  all  we  can  to  enlarge  the  percentage  of  reformed, 
and  to  reduce  to  the  lowest  possible  figure  the  list  of  the  determined 
criminals.3 

There  can  be  no  question  that  what  Mr.  Hayes  was  able  to 
do  in  behalf  of  this  cause  had  positive  influence  in  hastening 
the  adoption  of  more  rational  and  more  humane  methods  in 
American  penal  systems.4 

1  From  speech,  National  Prison  Congress  at  Detroit,  October  17,  1885. 

2  Closing  paragraph  of  speech,  opening  National  Prison  Congress  at  Atlanta, 
November  6,  1886. 

*  From  speech,  National  Prison  Congress  at  Nashville,  November  16,  1889. 
4  Mr.  Hayes  further  manifested  his  practical  interest  in  this  cause  by  exerting 
his  influence  to  bring  about  the  erection  of  a  model  jail  in  his  home  town. 


PHILANTHROPIC  ACTIVITIES  349 

Great  as  was  his  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  old  soldiers 
and  to  the  prison  reform  cause,  it  was,  however,  educational 
problems  that  excited  his  deepest  concern  and  most  engaged  his 
thought  and  endeavors.1  He  never  wavered  in  his  conviction  of 
the  propriety  and  wisdom  of  national  aid  to  common  school 
education;  and  in  all  the  years  that  the  subject  was  before  Con 
gress,  by  frequent  public  expression  and  by  personal  letters  to 
Congressmen,2  he  exerted  his  influence  in  favor  of  legislation  to 
that  end.  Of  all  his  many  addresses  on  this  theme  the  most 
notable  was  the  one  delivered  at  Woodstock,  Connecticut,  on 
July  4,  1883.  In  this  he  urged  that  universal  suffrage  demanded 
universal  education  and  that  the  burdensome  mass  of  illiteracy 
in  the  South  was  too  great  for  that  section  in  its  impoverished 
condition  to  deal  with  single-handed.  The  nation  should  come 
to  the  rescue.  Some  of  his  most  striking  paragraphs  were :  — 

We  have  now  had  thirteen  years  of  experience  with  universal  suffrage 
under  our  amended  Constitution.  This  experience  confirms  the  often 
quoted  and  familiar  opinions  of  the  fathers  of  the  Republic.  They  held 

1  "My  reflections  lead  me  to  the  idea  that  the  practical  good  thing  for  me  to 
try  to  give  the  public  is  general  education.  With  my  family  affairs,  my  place,  my 
town,  and  this  as  an  object,  I  can  always  be  agreeably  and  usefully  employed. 
I  am  averse  to  writing  for  the  public.   I  am  out  of  official  life,  but  it  seems  to 
me  I  can  accomplish  something  in  this  direction."   (Diary,  April  17,  1883.) 

2  "I  am  daily  writing  to  members  of  Congress  in  behalf  of  the  bill  in  aid  of 
education  by  the  general  Government.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  hope  among  its 
friends.  But  — "  (Diary,  December  30,  1884.)  —  The  following  letter  shows  the 
kind  of  appeal  Mr.  Hayes  made  to  Congressmen:  — 

FREMONT,  OHIO,  9  March,  1886. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  As  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Slater  Education  Fund,  and  also 
of  the  Peabody  Education  Fund,  I  have  given,  during  the  last  five  years,  espe 
cially,  a  good  deal  of  attention  to  the  general  subject  of  education  in  the  South. 

The  result  is  that  I  feel  very  great  solicitude  in  behalf  of  the  Senate  bill  now 
before  the  committee  of  which  you  are  a  member  giving  national  aid  to  education 
when  such  aid  is  needed.  A  few  words  will  indicate  sufficiently  what  I  think. 
Elections  without  education  —  universal  suffrage  without  universal  education  — 
must  always  and  everywhere  be  a  farce.  There  will  be  no  general  education  in 
the  South  for  several  generations  without  national  aid.  The  bill  before  you  is  the 
only  chance.  You  have  an  opportunity  to  serve  the  Republican  party  by  serving 
the  country  such  as  has  been  rarely  presented  since  the  war.  Excuse  me  for  urg 
ing  you  with  some  warmth  to  give  the  subject  your  best  attention.  With  great 
respect,  sincerely, 

R.  B.  HAYES. 
HON.  ISAAC  H.  TAYLOR, 
WASHINGTON. 


350  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

that  where  all  are  citizens  and  all  are  voters  the  necessity  is  imperative, 
fundamental,  and  overwhelming  that  there  should  be  free  education 
for  all.  Ignorant  voters  are  ammunition  for  demagogues.  Public  and 
private  credit,  social  peace  and  order,  property  and  life  are  unsafe  in 
any  community  where  the  voters  who  make  and  execute  the  laws  can 
not  read  and  write.  The  only  power  able  to  establish  and  support  an 
efficient  system  of  universal  education  is  the  Government.  In  the  South, 
by  reason  of  slavery  and  its  pernicious  legacies,  to  provide  for  the  free 
education  of  all  by  state  authority  is  simply  impossible.  The  colored 
people  were  held  in  bondage,  and  therefore  in  ignorance,  under  the 
Constitution  of  the  nation.  They  were  set  free  and  made  citizens  and 
voters  by  the  most  solemn  expression  of  the  nation's  will,  and  now, 
therefore,  the  duty  to  fit  them  by  education  for  citizenship  and  suffrage 
is  devolved  upon  the  whole  people. 

The  Southern  States,  with  commendable  zeal,  have  begun  the  work. 
The  best  minds  in  those  States  support  it.  What  is  now  needed  is 
pecuniary  aid  —  that  aid  which  the  nation  is  abundantly  able  to  furnish. 
Ignorance,  if  widespread,  anywhere  in  our  country  imperils  the  wel 
fare  of  every  other  part  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  whole  nation. 
To  educate  all  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  is  at  once  our  highest 
duty  and  our  highest  interest.  Education  is  the  friend  of  whatever  is 
most  to  be  desired  in  civilized  society.  It  is  hostile  only  to  that  which 
is  bad.  There  is  no  safe  foundation  for  free  governments  without  it. 

The  real  government  in  this  country  is  that  of  opinion,  and  with  the 
means  and  authority  for  universal  education  in  our  hands,  it  is  "op 
tional  with  us  whether  the  power  to  which  we  have  subjected  ourselves 
shall  be  a  power  of  intelligence  or  of  ignorance;  a  reign  of  reflection  and 
reason  or  of  reckless  strength;  a  reign  of  darkness  or  of  light." 

To  complete  reconstruction  and  regeneration  in  the  South,  the  only 
force  now  left  to  the  Government  or  the  people  is  popular  education. 
Let  national  aid  to  this  good  cause  be  withheld  no  longer.1 

He  presented  the  same  ideas  in  different  language  on  a 
great  variety  of  occasions  and  before  audiences  of  every  sort. 
While  undoubtedly  he  carried  with  him  in  this  advocacy  the 

1  Speaking  to  the  same  subject  on  Memorial  Day,  1885,  at  Ripley,  Ohio,  Mr. 
Hayes  said:  "I  have  said  before  and  I  repeat  that  the  colored  people  are  the 
only  people  resident  in  our  country  when  slavery  existed  who  are  in  no  sense 
responsible  for  it.  '  They  were  here  by  the  misfortune  of  their  ancestors,  and  by 
the  crime  of  ours.'  Slavery  is  responsible  for  the  ignorance  of  the  South.  Who  is 
responsible  for  slavery?  It  was  in  the  Union  and  in  the  Constitution  when  they 
were  formed.  All  who  took  part  in  forming  or  upholding  them  while  slavery  con 
tinued  are  in  some  sense  responsible  for  slavery.  Let  the  nation  then  complete  the 
work  which  was  begun  by  the  soldiers  who  are  honored  to-day.  The  work  of  the 
war  was  to  save  the  Union  by  abolishing  slavery.  It  only  remains  to  secure  the 
results  of  the  war  by  giving  to  the  emancipated  race  that  education  which  will  fit 
them  for  their  new  duties." 


PRESIDENT  AND  MRS.  HAYES  AND  WILLIAM  HENRY  SMITH 

On  the  Piazza  at  Spiegel  Grove,  1889 


PHILANTHROPIC  ACTIVITIES  351 

sympathies  and  support  of  the  great  majority  of  men  of  benevo 
lent  public  spirit,  and  while  the  Blair  Bill  more  than  once  barely 
failed  of  passage,  yet  the  prevailing  sentiment  of  the  country, 
as  has  already  been  noted,  opposing  so  vast  an  extension  of 
national  authority,  finally  stamped  the  project  with  disap 
proval. 

Mr.  Hayes  was  disappointed  at  this  result,  but  he  found  con 
solation  in  the  greater  efforts  put  forth  each  year  by  the  South 
ern  States  to  ease  themselves  of  the  burden  of  ignorance  and 
in  the  constantly  accelerated  flow  of  private  benevolence  from 
the  North  into  the  less  enlightened  parts  of  the  South.  How 
exigent  were  the  needs  of  the  South  for  assistance  to  give  even 
rudimentary  school  training  to  its  vast  horde  of  illiterate  ne 
groes  and  poverty-stricken  whites,  Mr.  Hayes  vividly  realized 
by  reason  of  his  activity  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees 
of  the  Peabody  Education  Fund.  To  this  board  he  was  elected 
in  his  first  year  in  the  White  House.  The  venerable  R.  C.  Win- 
throp,  of  Massachusetts,  was  then  president  of  the  board,  and 
the  other  members  were  General  Grant,  George  Peabody  Rus 
sell,  General  H.  R.  Jackson,  Secretary  Evarts,  Hamilton  Fish, 
William  Aiken,  George  W.  Riggs,  Samuel  Wetmore,  A.  H.  H. 
Stuart,  General  Richard  Taylor,  Surgeon-General  Barnes, 
Chief  Justice  Waite,  Bishop  Whipple,  T.  Lyman,  and  the  Rev 
erend  Dr.  Barnas  Sears.  In  the  years  that  followed,  as  one 
member  or  another  passed  to  his  reward,  other  men  of  similar 
note  and  eminence  were  chosen  to  the  board.  The  fund  was 
created  by  George  Peabody,1  the  illustrious  American  finan 
cier  and  philanthropist  of  London,  whose  immense  benefac 
tions,  both  in  England  and  in  this  country,  established  a  new 
standard  of  beneficence.  The  income  of  the  fund  was  to  be 
used  to  aid  the  cause  of  education  in  the  South  regardless  of 
race.  It  was  administered  under  the  direction  of  the  trustees 
by  a  secretary  or  agent,  who  visited  the  schools  that  received 
assistance  and  made  himself  conversant  by  direct  investigation 
with  the  educational  conditions  of  the  old  slaveholding  States. 
Mr.  Hayes  always  kept  in  close  touch  with  the  work  and  never 

1  This  was  in  1866  on  a  visit  of  Mr.  Peabody  to  this  country.  He  then  gave 
$2,000,000.  On  his  subsequent  visit  three  years  later  he  gave  an  additional  sum 
of  $1,400,000. 


352  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

failed  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  board.  These  annual  meetings 
usually  took  place  in  New  York.  After  the  serious  business  of 
the  board  was  completed,  the  work  of  the  year  gone  by  reviewed, 
and  plans  made  for  the  year  to  come,  the  trustees  with  their 
wives  or  daughters  always  dined  together  and  spent  the  evening 
hi  social  intercourse.  These  evenings  were  greatly  enjoyed  by 
Mr.  Hayes.  So,  altogether,  membership  in  the  board,  while 
bringing  him  much  care  and  labor,  was  not  only  a  source  of 
satisfaction  to  him  because  of  the  good  results  he  helped  accom 
plish,  but  also  had  recompense  in  the  pleasant  personal  associ 
ations  that  it  fostered. 

Similar  duties  and  responsibilities  were  undertaken  by  Mr. 
Hayes,  and  similar  relations  were  created  for  him  by  his  connec 
tion  with  the  Slater  Fund.  This  was  a  fund  of  one  million  dol 
lars  placed  in  the  hands  of  trustees  in  1882  by  John  F.  Slater, 
a  wealthy  cotton  manufacturer  of  Norwich,  Connecticut,  the 
income  of  which  was  to  be  used  to  aid  in  the  education  of  the 
freedmen;  especially  in  the  training  of  teachers.1  Mr.  Hayes 
was  made  president  of  the  board  and  so  continued  to  the  end 
of  his  career.  The  other  members  6f  the  board  as  originally 
constituted  were  Chief  Justice  Waite,  Governor  Colquitt,  of 
Georgia,  John  A.  Stewart,  William  E.  Dodge,  Morris  K.  Jesup, 
Dr.  Boyce,  President  Gilman,  and  William  A.  Slater.2  The 
benevolence  was  administered  in  much  the  same  way  as  the 
Peabody  Fund,  except  that  its  benefit  was  confined  to  schools 

1  "The  Slater  charter  has  become  a  law  in  New  York.   I  will  now  try  to  make 
the  most  of  this  good  charity.  Industrial  education,  as  well  as  religious  education, 
must  have  attention.  To  make  the  colored  people  respected  and  influential  they 
must  be  successful  in  accumulating  property  —  in  doing  the  work  which  our 
civilization  prizes  most  highly.   Let  them  be  not  merely  bookish  scholars,  but 
good  mechanics  and  good  business  men.    Let  them  show  architects,  civil  en 
gineers,  and  the  like."    (Diary,  May  7,  1882.) 

"  The  Slater  Fund  Trustees  meet  to-morrow.  A  few  ideas  seem  to  be  agreed 
upon.  Help  none  but  those  who  help  themselves.  Educate  only  at  schools  which 
provide  in  some  form  for  industrial  education.  These  two  points  should  be 
insisted  upon.  Let  the  normal  instruction  be  that  men  must  earn  their  own  living 
—  and  that  by  the  labor  of  their  hands  as  far  as  may  be.  This  is  the  gospel  of 
salvation  for  the  colored  man.  Let  the  labor  not  be  servile,  but  in  manly  occupa 
tions  like  those  of  the  carpenter,  the  farmer,  and  the  blacksmith."  (Diary,  New 
York,  October  4,  1882.) 

2  Two  years  later  Phillips  Brooks,  whom  Mr.  Slater  had  desired  from  the  first, 
joined  the  board. 


PHILANTHROPIC  ACTIVITIES  353 

established  solely  for  the  negro  race.  In  the  later  years  of  Mr. 
Hayes's  life  the  same  man,  the  Reverend  Dr.  J.  L.  M.  Curry, 
was  made  the  disbursing  agent  of  both  funds,  and  thus  com 
plete  cooperation  in  effort  was  brought  about.  In  the  interest 
of  the  work  of  the  two  boards,  Mr.  Hayes  in  the  autumn  of  1891, 
accompanied  by  Dr.  Curry,  made  an  extended  trip  through  the 
South,1  so  as  to  be  able,  by  personal  inspection  of  the  schools 
receiving  aid,  to  know  more  intimately  the  results  that  were 
being  accomplished  and  to  see  for  himself  the  needs  and  condi 
tions  that  deserved  consideration.  In  each  community  that  he 
visited  the  people  greeted  him  with  every  manifestation  of  re 
spect  and  honor.  They  wished  him  to  know  that  they  had  not 
ceased  to  be  grateful  for  what  he  had  done  and  said  for  the 
South  while  he  was  President,2  and  that  they  appreciated  the 
interest  he  had  ever  since  displayed  by  word  and  deed  in  the  new 
development  and  the  growing  prosperity  of  their  part  of  our 
common  country.  In  every  city  occasion  was  made  for  him  to 
address  the  people,  when  he  expressed  his  gratification  at  the 
signs  of  progress  everywhere  apparent,  and  spoke  for  the  cause 
of  education,  to  forward  which  was  the  special  object  of  his 
visit.  His  most  significant  utterance,  perhaps,  was  in  his  brief 
speech  November  10,  at  the  Montgomery  Exposition.  He  said: 

In  all  free  governments,  and  especially  in  this,  the  peace  and  progress 
of  the  country  depend  upon  the  intelligence  and  religion  of  the  people. 
The  people  make  the  Government  just  what  they  want  it  to  be.  We 
rejoice  to  see  what  your  State  has  done  for  the  education  and  elevation 

1  The  towns  visited  were  Columbia  (South  Carolina),  Orangeburg,  Augusta, 
Atlanta,  Montgomery,    New  Orleans,  Jackson  (Mississippi),  Memphis,  and 
Nashville. 

2  His  experience  was  similar  to  this  at  Atlanta  in  1886,  as  witness  the  follow 
ing:  "My  visit  to  Atlanta,  Georgia,  was  in  all  respects  most  gratifying.   I  pre 
sided  over  the  meetings  of  the  National  Prison  Association.  No  reception  could 
have  been  more  cordial  and  friendly.  All  descriptions  of  people  publicly  and  to  me 
personally  said  that  the  South  owed  a  debt  to  me  greater  than  to  any  man  since 
Washington.  All  agreed  that  I  had  taken  the  course  first  which  had  restored 
harmony  between  the  sections.    Among  those  thus  greeting  me  were  Governors 
Gordon,  McDaniel,  Bullock,  Colquitt;  Reverends  Tucker,  Hathorne,  Strickler, 
Jones;  Mayors  Goodwin  and  Hilyer;  Citizens  Sidney,  Root,  Kiser;  members  of 
the  Legislature  without  number,  etc.   Whenever  these  sentiments  were  uttered 
in  the  public  meetings,  as  they  were  constantly,  the  response  was  hearty  and 
prompt.  Altogether  the  personal  part  of  the  visit  was  all  I  could  wish."  (Diary, 
November  18,  1886.) 


354  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

of  all  her  citizens.   Free  institutions  can  only  exist  where  there  is  uni 
versal  education. 

I  believe  now,  as  I  believed  fifteen  years  ago,  in  home  rule.  I  believe 
now,  as  I  believed  then,  that  the  flag  of  the  nation  should  not  float  over 
conquered  provinces,  but  over  free  and  independent  States.  [Great 
applause.]  I  think  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  set  forth 
the  true  principles  of  our  Government  when  it  declared  this  to  be  an 
indissoluble  Union  of  independent  States.1 

Mr.  Hayes  never  had  any  regrets  for  the  policy  he  had  pursued 
toward  the  South.  Complete  reconciliation  was  slower  in  coming 
than  he  had  hoped,  but  he  rejoiced  in  believing  that  his  action 
had  done  much  to  accelerate  its  progress. 

Mr.  Hayes  further  showed  his  interest  in  everything  pertain 
ing  to  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  negro  race  by 
presiding  over  the  early  conferences  at  Lake  Mohonk,  for  the 
discussion  of  all  the  questions  that  this  problem  in  our  social 
and  political  life  presents.  In  his  address  at  the  opening  of  the 
First  Conference  (June  4,  1890),  Mr.  Hayes,  in  a  few  sentences, 
clearly  outlined  the  proper  scope  of  the  inquiries  to  be  under 
taken  and  the  influences  that  were  sought  to  be  exercised.  His 
words  were :  — 

Upon  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  of  the  Nation  and  the  States, 
and  upon  their  administration,  the  welfare  of  the  negroes,  like  that  of 
their  fellow  citizens,  largely  depends.  This  wide  area  of  duty  and  of 
effort  belongs  to  the  domain  of  practical  statesmanship.  It  will  be  ex 
plored,  investigated,  discussed,  and  dealt  with  by  those  who  make  and 
those  who  execute  the  laws,  state  and  national,  by  the  public  press, 
and  by  political  parties.  These  agencies,  guided  by  their  sense  of  duty 
and  supported  by  public  opinion,  we  may  hope  will  in  the  long  run  be 
adequate  to  the  responsibilities  devolved  upon  them.  Our  Mohonk 
Conference  accepts  the  less  conspicuous  but  hardly  less  grave  and  in 
fluential  place  of  employing  the  forces  which  concern  the  educational, 
the  benevolent,  and  the  religious  side  of  the  question.  We  seek  consci 
entiously  to  avoid  whatever  is  sectarian,  or  that  smacks  of  partisanship 
or  sectionalism.  Political  duties  and  political  action,  however  vital  in 
their  appropriate  sphere,  should,  in  this  conference,  it  is  believed,  yield 
the  floor  to  impartial  investigation  and  earnest  discussion  of  the  best 
methods  for  uplifting  the  colored  people  in  their  industries,  their  home 

1  Commenting  on  the  last  paragraph  the  St.  Louis  Republic  (Dem.),  Novem 
ber  13,  1891,  said:  "Mr.  Hayes  can  well  afford  to  submit  to  the  judgment  of 
history,  for  it  will  certainly  say  of  him  that  he  did  more  to  restore  the  Union  of 
free  and  independent  States  than  was  ever  done  by  any  other  Republican  Presi 
dent,  or  by  all  the  other  Republican  Presidents  together." 


PHILANTHROPIC  ACTIVITIES  355 

life,  their  education,  their  morality,  their  religion,  and,  in  short,  in  all 
that  pertains  to  their  personal  conduct  and  character.  If  we  can,  with 
harmony,  prudence,  and  good  sense,  adhere  to  this  course,  we  may  ex 
pect  to  do  something  on  this  momentous  subject  toward  forming  and 
enlightening  that  public  opinion  which,  in  a  land  of  free  institutions, 
must  be  regarded  as,  under  Providence,  the  final  sovereign  —  as,  in 
fact,  the  Government.1 

Mr.  Hayes  was  also  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
Western  Reserve  University,  at  Cleveland,  of  the  Ohio  Wesleyan 
University,  at  Delaware,  and,  by  appointment  of  the  Governor, 
of  the  State  University,  at  Columbus.  In  each  case  he  took  his 
duties  seriously,  attending  all  meetings  of  each  board  and  serv 
ing  on  important  committees.  He  was  never  willing  to  shirk 
responsibility  when  any  trust  or  obligation  had  once  been  ac 
cepted  by  him.2  In  each  university  he  strove  for  a  broadening 
of  the  courses  of  study  and  urged  that  greater  stress  be  placed 

1  "The  Mohonk  Conference  is  a  tentative  effort,  whose  aim  is  to  reach  the 
truth  on  the  negro  question,  and  to  assist  in  the  formation  of  sound  opinions 
among  the  people  as  to  their  duty  on  the  whole  subject."   (Diary,  May  8,  1890.) 

"Whether  what  we  have  said  or  done  shall  live  or  die,  our  impressions,  our 
convictions  are  stronger  than  before  that  the  much  injured  race  in  whose  behalf 
we  have  met  has  large  possibilities,  an  important  future,  a  part  to  play  in  the  his 
tory  of  our  American  society.  It  is  said  that  this  [race]  has  had  no  history.  That 
is  not  quite  true.  But  true  or  not,  we  have  heard  enough  to  be  assured  that  the 
gifts  required  to  take  a  place  in  history  in  large  measure  belong  to  them.  We  were 
told  of  their  success  in  weighty  tables  of  figures  by  Mr.  Harris  [United  States 
Commissioner  of  Education].  President  White  told  of  the  great  men  he  met  in 
Santo  Domingo,  in  Hayti,  and  other  West  India  islands.  Let  me  add  a  small  item 
to  that  shining  list  of  prophetic  facts,  pointing  the  possible  future  of  the  race.  I 
was  a  few  days  ago  in  Bermuda.  The  entrance  to  its  principal  port  is  a  long, 
intricate,  difficult,  and  dangerous  passage.  The  man  [a  negro]  who  has  charge  of 
the  ship,  taking  it  in  and  out,  can  be  no  weakling."  (Diary,  June  6,  1890.) 

2  "I  have  made  it  a  rule  through  life  to  attend  well  to  the  humblest  duties 
assigned  to  me,  as  official,  or  committeeman,  or  otherwise.  This  has  been  a  neces 
sity  for  me,  with  my  feelings  and  notions  of  duty.   It  has  also  been  a  powerful 
aid.    One  gets  the  reputation  of  reliability,  makes  acquaintances  favorably, 
gains  friends,  becomes  a  necessity  or  a  providence  to  others,  and  is  therefore 
supported  and  pushed  ahead.    Both  for  self -comfort  and  self-interest,  1  advise 
the  young  to  this  course."    (Diary,  July  3,  1887.) 

"Just  now  I  am  giving  my  thoughts  to  the  Ohio  State  University,  at  Colum 
bus.  It  is  in  some  respects  not  in  a  satisfactory  condition.  It  will  come  out  in 
due  time.  If  anybody  was  its  founder,  in  the  words  of  Governor  Corwin,  '  a  great 
part  of  it  I  am  which.'  The  land  I  worked  so  hard  to  get,  now  in  the  city  of 
Columbus,  is  already  worth  twice  as  much  as  the  land-grant  fund,  and  will  be 
in  a  few  years  worth  millions."  (Letter  to  William  Henry  Smith,  November  27, 
1887.)  —  Mr.  Hayes  was  also  President  of  the  Ohio  State  Archaeological  and 
Historical  Society,  and  was  zealous  in  furthering  its  work. 


356  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

on  the  subjects  of  practical  importance  in  the  affairs  of  life.  He 
had  become  convinced  that  the  older  college  education  spent 
too  much  time  and  energy  on  Latin  and  Greek;  that  the  average 
student  could  be  better  trained  for  the  new  conditions  of  the 
age  by  giving  him  a  larger  knowledge  of  history  and  of  politics, 
of  literature  and  of  modern  languages,  and,  especially,  of  science 
and  of  scientific  method,  than  the  old  constricted  curriculum 
made  possible;  that  with  the  study  of  principles  should  go  con 
stant  application  of  them  in  practical  exercise,  constant  verifi 
cation  of  them  by  laboratory  investigation.1  He  was  among  the 
foremost  to  insist  that  education  ought  not  to  be  wholly  along 
intellectual  lines;  that  it  should  embody  also  some  training  of  the 
hand  and  eye  by  the  use  of  tools  and  machinery.  Indeed,  during 
the  last  few  years  of  his  life,  he  made  practically  no  speech  on  any 
college  or  school  occasion  in  which  he  did  not  plead  for  the  in 
troduction  and  extension  of  manual  training  courses  in  our  com 
mon  schools;  and  of  mechanical  courses  in  institutions  of  higher 
learning.2  The  purpose  of  manual  training,  he  contended,  was 
"to  give  a  general  dexterity  of  the  hands  and  eyes  in  the  use  of 
the  leading  elementary  tools  of  the  principal  mechanical  trades." 
It  had  many  advantages :  — 

Manual  training  promotes  accuracy,  cultivates  observation,  de 
velops  judgment,  and  trains  the  faculties  to  attention  and  concentra 
tion.  It  leads  to  habits  of  industry  —  to  belief  in  labor,  to  respect  for 
labor,  and  to  the  spirit  of  labor.  It  is  good  for  health.  It  builds  up 

1  "  No  book  study  merely  —  no  study  without  practice  —  gives  a  complete 
and  thorough  education.  The  study  of  rhetoric  will  not  make  an  orator  or  a  writer. 
Declamation,  debate,  the  habit  of  composition,  must  be  formed  by  practice. 
Work  must  go  with  study.    Geology  and  the  other  sciences  are  to  be  learned 
well  only  by  practical  work.  Thoroughly  to  understand  a  theory  we  must  be  able 
to  put  it  into  practice. 

"I  constantly  find  one  advantage  in  working  for  educational  and  benevolent 
enterprises  in  the  fact  that  having  been  in  the  first  place  I  am  not  suspected 
of  wanting  any  personal  promotion  or  advancement."  (Diary,  November  27, 
1887.) 

"The  delusion  of  the  past  in  all  our  schools  and  colleges  has  been  that  there  is 
no  mental  training  except  in  books,  while  in  fact  the  best  intellectual  culture  is 
to  be  found  in  learning  how  to  use  skilfully  the  eyes  and  hands."  (Diary,  Decem 
ber  18,  1887.) 

2  "The  study  of  tools  as  well  as  of  books  should  have  a  place  in  the  public 
schools.    Tools,  machinery,  and  the  implements  of  the  farm  should  be  made 
familiar  to  every  boy,  and  suitable  industrial  education  should  be  provided  for 
every  girl."   (Diary,  June  27,  1884.) 


PHILANTHROPIC  ACTIVITIES  357 

character.  The  key  to  what  I  am  saying  is  my  own  observation  and 
experience.  I  do  not  attempt  to  prove  it  by  a  process  of  reasoning.  I 
venture,  with  all  due  diffidence,  I  trust,  to  give  you  my  testimony. 
Take  it  for  what  it  is  worth.  I  will  support  it  by  many  concurring  voices 
that  are  of  the  highest  authority.  Work  with  the  hands  —  skilled  labor 
under  intelligent  and  careful  instruction  —  instruction  always  progres 
sive  —  unlocks  concealed  faculties  of  the  mind  which  no  book,  no  study 
of  any  book,  can  ever  reach  so  easily,  so  quickly,  and  in  a  way  that 
gives  their  possessor  such  a  real  and  practical  power.  Hence  it  is  that 
the  scholar  is  so  often  amazed  when  he  witnesses  the  achievements, 
the  sagacity,  the  intellectual  strength  of  self-made  men  —  falsely  called 
self-made;  in  truth  they  are  the  men  of  superior  education  by  reason 
of  the  better  advantages  which  the  necessity  of  poverty  and  labor  have 
literally  forced  upon  them. 

I  begin  by  uniting  heartily  with  you  in  endorsing  the  American  col 
lege  and  the  American  public  school  —  the  American  college  and  the 
American  public  school  of  the  past,  of  the  present,  and  of  their  well- 
assured  future.  Their  fruit  is  their  vindication.  American  history  thus 
far  is  in  large  measure  their  triumphant  result  and  their  inspiring  ful 
filment  of  every  promise  ever  made  in  their  behalf. 

My  contention  is  that  skilled  productive  labor  should  be  taught  to 
all  the  young  during  the  whole  educational  period  from  infancy  to 
maturity.  This  is  to  the  end  first  —  perhaps  chiefly  — that  the  habits 
of  industry  wrhich  nature  kindly  and  wisely  gives  to  all  the  young  may 
not  be  lost  —  may  not  be  supplanted  by  laziness  or  mere  pleasure- 
seeking,  which  are  the  fertile  parents  of  vice,  of  crime,  and  of  misery.1 

That  Mr.  Hayes  was  a  pioneer  in  the  advocacy  of  manual 
training  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  at  the  time  he  began  to 
urge  this  need  in  our  educational  system,  hardly  a  manual  train 
ing  high  school  existed  in  the  country,  and  very  few  common 
schools  had  been  even  meagrely  equipped  for  any  form  of 
manual  training. 

These  various  and  diverse  interests  and  activities  entailed 
upon  Mr.  Hayes  an  enormous  correspondence  2  —  thousands 
of  letters  each  year  —  and  the  preparation  of  innumerable 

1  Address  before  the  Ohio  College  Association  at  Columbus,  December  27, 
1892.    His  last  public  address. 

2  There  are  frequent  references  in  the  diary  to  the  burden  of  correspondence. 
But  only  near  the  end  of  his  life  is  there  a  note  of  complaint;  as,  for  example: 
"All  day  writing  letters,  but  the  heap  on  my  table  is  still  appalling.    Why  do 
people  write  to  me  on  their  own  affairs,  and  at  such  unconscionable  length? 
Why  not  skip  all  but  the  nub  and  put  that  in  the  fewest  words?   The  time  is 
coming  when  I  must  use  the  waste-basket  for  the  lion's  share  of  my  correspond 
ence."   (December  10,  1892.) 


358  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

speeches,  addresses,  and  reports.  As  he  had  never  habituated 
himself  to  dictation  to  an  amanuensis  he  could  keep  abreast  of 
his  obligations  only  by  constant  application  and  persistent  in 
dustry.  And  yet  he  found  time  for  regular  exercise  or  physical 
effort  in  the  open  air;  he  kept  up  his  investigations  of  local  and 
colonial  history  and  his  genealogical  studies,  and  he  read  widely 
not  only  on  the  philanthropic  and  educational  topics  in  which 
he  was  so  deeply  interested,  but  also  in  the  current  literature 
of  the  day  and  in  the  classics  of  the  language.  And  he  always 
had  time  to  entertain  his  friends  who  delighted  to  spend  days  or 
weeks  under  his  hospitable  roof. 

Nor  did  the  numerous  matters  already  detailed  exhaust  the 
range  of  his  employment  or  define  the  demands  on  his  time  and 
energy.  He  was  in  frequent  requisition  for  participation  in 
civic  celebrations,  or  special  public  entertainments,1  or  great 
ceremonial  occasions,  or  memorial  gatherings.2  At  the  funeral 

1  For  example,  he  was  present  at  the  entertainment  of  the  Toledo  Press  Club, 
March  15,  1888,  and  made  a  long  address.   In  this  he  said:  — 

"Show  me  a  man  who  reads  regularly  and  carefully  his  newspaper,  and  I  am 
sure  that  you  have  called  attention  to  an  intelligent  and  useful  citizen. 

"Where  in  our  system  of  government  does  sovereignty  reside?  An  intelligent 
political  philosopher  says :  '  Here  the  opinion  of  the  masses  in  the  broadest  sense 
of  the  term,  the  way  in  which  they  feel  and  think,  or  understand  their  interests, 
or  misunderstand  them,  as  the  case  may  be,  expressed  in  the  greatest  number  of 
votes,  is  the  real  power  of  the  Government.'  Now,  prophets  of  evil  say  that  such 
a  government  must  lack  the  conservative  balance-wheel.  That  it  is  like  a  ship 
all  sail  and  no  anchor.  But  the  true  philosopher  sees  that  the  balance-wheel,  the 
conservative  force,  is  intelligent  popular  discussion.  Free  debate  gives  the  field 
to  the  wise.  But  intelligent  discussion  that  can  reach  and  enlighten  all  minds  is 
only  possible  in  a  land  of  newspapers.  By  the  law  of  their  being  they  are  com 
pelled  to  publish  the  best  arguments  contributed  to  their  own  side  of  every  pub 
lic  contention.  By  the  same  law,  their  self-interest,  more  and  more  they  are 
compelled  also  to  publish  the  best  presentation  of  the  cause  of  their  adversaries. 
Thus  the  newspaper  press  is  becoming  what  all  concerned  in  it  should  hasten 
to  make  it  —  the  ideal  forum  of  a  republic,  where  the  best  that  can  be  said  on 
important  issues  is  within  the  reach  of  every  citizen.  With  this  fully  accom 
plished,  we  may  hail  the  newspaper  press  as  the  life-guard  of  free  institutions  in 
America!" 

2  At  a  banquet  of  the  Loyal  Legion  at  Pittsburg,  February  22,  1892,  in  re 
sponding  to  the  toast  to  the  memory  of  Washington,  he  said :  — 

"There  is  an  accepted  test  by  which  great  statesmen,  generals,  and  rulers  at 
last  are  judged.  Men's  deeds  live  after  them.  Results  determine.  The  question 
is  what  did  they  do  that  benefited  their  country  or  mankind?  Tried  by  this 
standard  the  fame  of  Washington  is  secure.  With  every  passing  year  the  work 
he  did  appears  higher  and  better.  More  and  more  its  unexpected  and  priceless 
value  and  magnitude  prove  to  be  of  world- wide  and  beneficent  influence.  These 


PHILANTHROPIC  ACTIVITIES  359 

of  Garfield,  his  steadfast  friend  and  supporter,  he  was  chief 
among  them  that  mourned;  and  later  he  engaged  in  raising 
the  memorial  fund  and  served  as  president  of  the  committee 
which  erected  and  dedicated  the  monument  in  Lake  View 
Cemetery,  Cleveland.1  He  rode  with  Arthur  near  the  head  of 
the  long  procession  that  mournfully  followed  the  corse  of  the 
indomitable  Grant  to  its  last  resting-place  beside  the  mighty 
Hudson.2  In  the  following  year  he  was  among  those  who  paid 

results  are  his  fitting  memorial,  and  must  be  considered  with  special  satisfaction 
and  gratitude  by  all  whose  precious  privilege  it  was  to  bear  a  part  in  the  great 
conflict  which  saved  and  enlarged  them. 

"The  qualities  —  the  traits  of  character  for  which  Washington  was  distin 
guished  —  were  all  solid,  lasting,  and  of  transcendent  worth.  He  had  a  massive 
understanding,  an  unerring  judgment,  an  iron  purpose,  unmatched  courage 
moral  and  physical,  a  sense  of  honor  of  the  purest  tone,  a  conscience  clear  and 
controlling,  inflexible  justice,  and  an  unselfish  love  of  country  that  was  the  master 
passion  of  his  soul.  His  advantages  of  person  and  bearing,  united  to  his  mental 
and  moral  strength,  made  him  the  typical  hero  of  America's  golden  age  —  a  fig 
ure  and  a  character  unsurpassed  in  dignity  and  majesty  in  the  annals  of  our  race. 
Let  what  fortune  come  that  might  to  the  divine  cause  of  his  country,  Washing 
ton  so  rose  above  the  accidents  of  time  and  chance  that  Destiny  was  bound  to 
place  him  high  on  the  roll  of  the  world's  most  admired  and  revered  patriots  and 
martyrs,  and  this  without  regard  to  victory  or  defeat  in  the  sublime  aims  of  his 
illustrious  life." 

1  He  was  likewise  president  of  the  Maumee  Valley  Monument  Association 
which  later  erected  the  monument  on  the  site  of  Fort  Meigs,  near  Toledo,  the 
scene  of  important  battles  in  the  War  of  1812. 

2  "The  interest  in  General  Grant's  death  has  been  very  great.   I  spoke  twice 
the  evening  of  his  death,  once  at  the  Eugene  Rawson  Post  and  once  at  the  Man- 
ville  Moore  Post,  G.A.R.   In  both  cases  I  urged  in  reference  to  a  monument  or 
memorial  structure  (1)  prompt  action  while  the  feeling  on  the  subject  is  universal 
and  warm;  (2)  that  the  memorial  be  placed  in  New  York,  where  General  Grant 
last  resided,  and  where  more  soldiers  and  citizens  will  see  and  enjoy  it  than  would 
be  the  case  in  any  other  locality;  (3)  that  it  be  built  by  a  union  effort  of  all  sol 
diers'  societies  and  all  citizens  in  every  part  of  the  country.  ...  I  am  to  speak 
this  evening  at  a  memorial  meeting  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Let  the 
memorial  be  worthy  of  the  Republic,  worthy  of  General  Grant,  and  worthy  of 
the  righteous  cause  of  which  he  was  the  most  illustrious  soldier.  He  was  simple, 
sincere,  heroic,  generous,  magnanimous,  of  sound  judgment,  self-poised,  and 
with  a  tenacity  of  purpose  rarely  equalled."   (Diary,  July  26,  1885.) 

"The  great  day  passed  off  well.  Not  hot  for  an  August  day  and  with  a  good 
breeze  blowing.  In  the  morning  I  was  shown  to  the  ex-Presidents'  room,  south 
east  corner  Twenty- third  [Street]  and  Fifth  Avenue,  a  good  place  to  see  the  pass 
ing  procession.  Soon  ex-President  Arthur  came  in;  we  met  in  a  friendly  way 
without  any  reserve  or  embarrassment  on  either  side.  .  .  . 

"  During  the  long  waiting  for  the  catafalque  to  reach  Fifth  Avenue  from  City 
Hall,  [Senator]  Sherman  and  I  called  on  President  Cleveland.  Found  him  plain, 
sensible,  natural  —  in  all  respects  well-appearing.  His  talk  was  friendly  and 


360  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

the  last  honors  to  the  memory  of  Arthur;  becoming  then  for  a 
time  the  only  living  ex-President.  He  attended  the  funeral  of 
his  stanch  friend  General  Sherman  at  New  York  and  was  one 
of  the  party  to  accompany  the  body  to  St.  Louis  for  interment 
and  to  share  in  the  final  rites.  And  one  of  his  last  journeys  was 
to  Indianapolis  to  mourn  with  President  Harrison  when  the 
body  of  Mrs.  Harrison  was  brought  from  the  White  House  to 
find  repose  at  Crown  Hill.1 

assuring.  My  favorable  impressions  were  all  confirmed.  He  lacks  experience  — 
is  not  a  great  man.  But  he  intends  and  anxiously  wishes  to  do  well.  He  is  firm 
and  sensible  —  good  qualities  in  a  President.  .  .  . 

"At  a  late  hour,  after  two  or  three  hours  of  waiting,  the  procession  passed  by 
until  our  place  near  the  catafalque  was  reached.  We  joined.  President  Arthur 
proved  an  excellent  companion  for  such  a  drive  —  five  hours.  The  procession,  per 
haps  fifty  thousand,  with  the  lookers-on  numbering  more  than  half  a  million, . . . 
was  in  all  respects  a  success.  There  was  good  order  and  propriety  throughout. 
Often  a  very  general  clapping  of  hands  as  Arthur  and  I  passed,  and  our  names 
constantly  heard.  When  the  Ohio  men  in  line  were  passed,  they  greeted  me  with 
as  decided  demonstrations  as  the  occasion  permitted.  Only  as  we  approached 
the  grave  was  there  a  decided  feeling  of  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion.  The  bands, 
as  the  carriages  passed  the  soldiers  in  line,  played  dirges  —  the  soldiers  at  present 
arms,  each  band  taking  up  the  sorrowful  airs  one  after  the  other;  the  'un 
counted  multitude/  the  ships  in  the  Hudson,  and  the  whole  scene  were  un 
speakably  impressive  and  affecting.  .  .  .  We  stood  on  the  left  side  of  the  cedar 
box  in  which  the  remains  were  secured.  The  G.A.R.  and  the  M.E.  ritual  were 
used;  and  rapidly  home  to  our  hotel.  President  Arthur  spoke  some  kind  words, 
a  hearty  good-bye,  and  we  parted."  (Diary,  August  9,  1885.) 

1  These  are  only  a  few  of  the  obsequies  of  distinguished  citizens  or  personal 
friends  that  he  journeyed  far  to  attend. 


CHAPTER  XLI 

INTEREST  IN  POLITICAL  QUESTIONS 

ON  leaving  the  White  House  Mr.  Hayes  ceased  to  take  any 
active  part  in  politics.  There  was  newspaper  talk  at  times 
that  he  was  to  be  a  candidate  for  Governor  or  for  Congress,  but 
it  never  had  any  basis  in  fact; 1  and  in  1888  there  were  party 
leaders  who  wished  to  see  him  renominated  for  the  Presidency, 
but  such  a  possibility  did  not  enter  his  thought.  He  felt  that 
he  had  done  his  full  share  in  official  life;  had  had  his  full  meed  of 
public  distinction  and  honors.  He  was  content  henceforth  to  be 
an  observer  of  the  political  movements  of  the  passing  years, 
with  their  shifting  centres  of  interest  as  new  questions  came  into 
prominence;  always,  however,  an  intensely  interested  observer, 
and  coming  to  be  clearly  conscious  of  the  social  problems 
created  by  changing  conditions  of  industry  and  the  prodigious 
concentration  of  wealth,  which  were  beginning  to  press  for  solu 
tion.  He  rejoiced  at  the  passage  of  the  Civil  Service  Reform 
Law  and  at  every  victory  won  in  the  contest  to  overthrow  the 

1  Private  FREMONT,  OHIO,  28  March,  1883. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  note  of  the  24th  instant  is  before  me.  I  have  not  the 
least  objection  to  stating  my  intention  as  to  a  return  to  public  life,  and  am  quite 
willing  it  should  be  generally  known.  But  I  do  not  wish  to  publish  nor  to  au 
thorize  the  publication  of  anything  on  the  subject.  When  I  left  office  two  years 
ago  it  was  my  intention  not  to  return  to  public  life.  I  have  seen  no  reason  to 
change  this  purpose  and  would  under  no  circumstances  accept  the  nomination 
referred  to  in  the  marked  article  you  have  sent  to  me.  This  I  have  said  to  all 
who  have  consulted  me,  and  I  think  it  is  well  understood  in  the  State. 

My  chief  interest  in  pending  public  questions  is  on  the  subject  of  education 
in  the  South  —  particularly  for  the  colored  people.  Whatever  I  can  do  on  this 
subject  to  promote  favorable  action  can  best  be  done  out  of  politics  and  out  of 
public  life. 

I  am  gratified  by  the  general  tone  of  your  articles  on  my  Administration  and 
wish  to  assure  you  of  my  appreciation  of  them. 

With  best  wishes,  sincerely, 

R.  B.  HAYES. 

MR.  ALFRED  T.  WAITE, 
BOSTON. 


362  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

spoils  system.1  He  regretted  every  departure  from  sound  prin 
ciples  in  this  contest  on  the  part  of  the  executive  authority.2 
To  the  horror  and  dismay  at  the  assassination  of  Garfield  which 
he  shared  with  all  good  citizens  was  added  for  him  a  special 
pang  because  of  long  friendship  and  intimate  political  associa 
tion.  The  day  after  Garfield  was  shot  Mr.  Hayes  wrote  in  his 
diary  (July  3,  1881) :  — 

The  dreadful  tragedy  at  Washington  has  occupied  our  thought  since 
yesterday  morning.  The  news  this  morning  is  encouraging.  .  .  .  The 
death  of  the  President  at  this  time  would  be  a  national  calamity  whose 
consequences  we  cannot  now  confidently  conjecture.  Arthur  for  Presi 
dent  !  Conkling  the' power  behind  the  throne,  superior  to  the  throne! 
The  Kepublican  party  divided,  and  defeated,  —  an  Administration 
without  the  moral  support  of  any  of  the  best  elements  of  the  country, 
struggling  to  maintain  itself  and  to  perpetuate  itself,  with  all  of  the 

1  "Conkling  and  Platt,  Senators  from  New  York,  have  both  resigned.  They 
expect,  no  doubt,  to  be  reflected  as  Republicans  opposed  to  Garfield's  Adminis 
tration.  It  is  a  wretched  business.  They  make  a  strong  point  in  claiming  that  to 
remove  Merritt  is  a  violation  of  the  President's  principles  as  laid  down  in  his 
inaugural  message,  and  of  all  sound  principles  on  the  subject.  The  capital  mis 
take  is  to  attempt  to  build  up  an  Administration  or  a  party  by  the  use  of  the 
offices  as  patronage.   The  offices  should  be  filled  for  the  good  of  the  service  — 
country  first  and  party  afterwards."   (Diary,  May  18,  1881.) 

2  "If  the  boss  system  is  to  go  down,  as  now  seems  probable,  I  can  say  I  struck 
the  first  and  most  difficult  blows.    It  is  based  on  congressional  patronage  and 
senatorial  prerogative  or  courtesy.   This  was  fully  entrenched  at  Washington 
when  I  was  inaugurated  in  1877.   The  first  step  in  a  reform  of  the  civil  service 
was  to  break  it  down.   As  long  as  the  lawmaking  power  held  the  power  of  ap 
pointment,  that  is,  'the  patronage,'  there  could  be  no  legislation  in  behalf  of 
reform.  Any  reform  was  at  the  expense  of  the  power  of  the  Senators  and  the  Rep 
resentatives.  The  first  and  principal  step  was  the  appointment  of  members  of  the 
Cabinet.  This  belonged,  according  to  the  prevailing  system,  to  the  leaders  of  the 
party  in  the  Senate.  A  Cabinet  of  independent  men  was  organized.  The  Cabinet, 
it  was  claimed  by  the  champions  of  the  boss  system,  should  be  formed,  not  un 
friendly  to  the  system.  The  announcement  of  the  names  of  Mr.  Evarts  and  Mr. 
Schurz,  both  independent  men,  —  both  opposed  by  the  bosses,  —  opened  the 
war.  Appointments  were  soon  made  in  all  directions,  not  dictated  by  the  leaders. 
From  that  moment  the  Stalwart  leaders  and  the  newspapers  who  followed  them, 
and  the  rank  and  file,  have  assailed  my  conduct,  character,  and  motives  with 
the  utmost  bitterness.  But  let  the  heathen  rage!  The  good  work  has  made  great 
advances.   The  principal  steps  have  been:  (1)  The  appointment  of  the  Cabinet 
in  1877,  and  the  general  course  of  the  Hayes  appointments  without  heeding  the 
dictation  of  Senators  and  Representatives.  (2)  The  defeat  of  Conkling  in  the  cus 
tom-house  conflict,  which  made  a  business  institution  of  the  New  York  Custom- 
House.    (3)  The  defeat  of  Conkling  and  Platt,  and  their  dismissal  from  public 
life  in  1881.   (4)  The  defeat  of  the  bosses  at  Chicago  in  1880."   (Diary,  May  17, 
1884.) 


INTEREST  IN  POLITICAL  QUESTIONS        363 

worst  features  of  Tyler  and  Johnson,  and  without  some  of  the  redeem 
ing  features  of  those  unfortunate  Administrations. 

But  the  people  are  at  last  the  Government.  If  they  are  wise,  and 
firm,  and  virtuous,  all  will  yet  be  well.  If  Arthur  comes  in  he  should 
have  a  fair  trial.  He  should  be  encouraged  to  do  well  by  a  warm  and 
sympathetic  support  as  far  as  he  is  right.  His  letter  of  acceptance  was 
creditable.  But  our  hopes  and  prayers  are  for  Garfield. 

A  few  days  later  (July  8),  when  hope  of  Garfield's  recovery 
was  strong,  Mr.  Hayes  wrote  to  John  Hay :  — 

Garfield  will  now  have  a  hold  on  the  hearts  of  the  American  people 
like  that  of  Washington  and  Lincoln.  He  can  do  any  righteous  and 
necessary  work  with  an  assured  confidence  of  the  firm  support  of  the 
people.  The  extreme  and  savage  partisanship  which  "Stalwarts" 
have  extolled  as  the  cardinal  virtue  of  a  public  man,  can  now  be  abated. 
A  true  and  genuine  reform  of  the  civil  service  under  Garfield  is  possi 
ble.  I  trust  he  will  see  his  great  opportunity.  If  he  does  what  he  can 
do,  this  great  calamity  will  lead  to  the  crowning  glory  of  his  life. 

And  three  days  later  he  wrote  to  General  Corbin,  who  was 
at  the  President's  bedside :  — 

The  President  must  see  many  things  to  console  and  sustain  him  in 
his  suffering.  He  is  now  loved  and  revered  by  the  people,  by  men  and 
women  in  all  sections  of  the  country,  with  an  affection  and  reverence 
felt  only  for  Washington  and  Lincoln.  The  tragical  event  has  softened 
partisan  and  sectional  animosities  until  we  are  as  a  people  more  har 
monious  than  ever  before  since  the  Revolution. 

He  has  a  power  for  good  and  wise  measures  and  conduct  such  as  no 
other  President  ever  had.  Mrs.  Garfield,  Mother  Garfield,  and  his  chil 
dren  are  all  embraced  in  the  tender  and  supreme  affection  of  the 
American  people.  Is  not  this  some  compensation  for  the  agony,  dis 
tress,  and  suspense  of  these  last  ten  long  and  anxious  days? 

The  following  excerpts  from  the  diary  show  how  much  Mr. 
Hayes's  thoughts  were  with  the  patient  sufferer  at  Elberon  and 
on  the  crisis  in  the  country's  history :  — 

August  27, 1881. —  The  President  is  losing  ground.  The  doctors  report 
that  he  is  weaker  this  morning  than  yesterday.  General  Drum  says 
"there  is  hardly  any  hope."  Eight  weeks  ago  this  morning  he  was  shot. 
How  he  has  suffered,  and  how  the  whole  country  has  suffered  during 
these  long  and  anxious  weeks! 

Our  mocking-bird  —  a  fine  singer  —  died  last  night.  We  had  him 
at  Columbus  in  1876,  took  him  to  Washington  where  he  sang  in  the 
White  House  during  our  four  years  there,  and  returned  with  us  in  March 
and  sang  his  best  in  rivalry  with  the  uncaged  songsters  of  Spiegel  Grove. 
His  death  is  unimportant,  of  course,  but  one  feels  a  foolish  presentiment 


364  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

that  the  death  of  the  bird  presages  that  of  President  Garfield.  It  is  a 
time  of  universal  anxiety  and  gloom. 

August  28.  —  It  is  impossible  to  keep  my  thoughts  from  the  President. 
He  is  very  low.  No  doubt  he  is  a  great  sufferer.  We  are  anxiously 
waiting. 

Conkling  has  been  in  conference  with  Arthur.  The  less  Arthur  has 
to  do  with  Conkling,  the  better  for  his  Administration  if  he  is  called  to 
form  one.  He  should  have  fair  treatment.  He  will  come  in,  if  at  all, 
under  embarrassing  and  difficult  circumstances.  We  must  give  him  a 
fair  trial  —  a  fair  hearing. 

August  30.  —  Dr.  Hamilton's  "We  are  afloat  and  off  the  breakers" 
is  likely  to  turn  out  a  truthful  announcement  of  the  blessed  tidings  that 
the  President  has  passed  the  crisis.  My  only  hope  last  week  was  a  blind 
confidence  in  my  hopeful  presentiment  that  he  would  "pull  through." 

September  10.  —  All  day  thinking  of  Garfield  —  of  the  battle  of  Ope- 
quon  (Winchester)  seventeen  years  ago,  and  how  I  got  over  the  slough 
alive!  Now,  almost  11  P.M.,  the  telegraph  operator  telephones  to  me, 
"We  have  a  report  from  Cleveland  that  Garfield  died  at  10.30  Wash 
ington  time."  I  replied,  "I  can't  believe  it."  I  do  doubt  it,  —  but  I 
fear,  I  dread  it.  "Assassination does  not  change  history."  The  march 
of  events  will  go  on;  but  it  is  a  personal  grief. 

September  28.  —  Absent  ten  days  attending  the  obsequies  of  President 
Garfield  at  Washington  and  Cleveland.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  uni 
versality  and  depth  of  feeling  shown  by  all  sorts  of  people.  It  is  a  most 
unnatural  crime.  Mrs.  Garfield  is  calm  and  quiet.  General  Banks  says 
what  frightens  the  world  is,  that  it  is  an  attempt  to  administer  govern 
ment  by  assassination.  The  uprising  is  a  protest  against  assassination.1 

1  In  a  letter,  published  widely  in  the  press  at  this  time,  Mr.  Hayes  found 
"perhaps  the  most  important  lesson"  of  the  assassination  to  be  the  folly,  the 
wickedness,  and  the  danger  of  extreme  and  bitter  partisanship  which  was  ag 
gravated  by  the  spoils  system  of  appointments  and  removals  of  public  officers. 
"With  the  principle  established  by  law  and  usage,"  he  said,  "that  appointments 
to  office  are  not  patronage,  but  to  be  made  according  to  merit,  the  class  to  which 
the  wretched  murderer  belongs  will  lose  its  occupation  and  the  temptation  *  to 
administer  the  government  by  assassination'  will  be  taken  away." 

Later  (February  21, 1883),  Mr.  Hayes  recorded  in  the  diary  this  estimate  of 
Garfield's  qualities:  "I  have  just  read  President  Hinsdale's  account  of  Gar- 
field  as  a  student  and  teacher.  Here  was  his  strength.  In  both  capacities  he  was 
a  model.  He  had  large  faculties  —  memory,  analysis,  fluency,  the  debating 
faculty;  he  was  the  best  popular  debater  of  his  time.  He  was  not  executive  in 
his  talents  —  not  original,  not  firm,  not  a  moral  force.  He  leaned  on  others  — 
could  not  face  a  frowning  world;  his  habits  suffered  from  Washington  life.  His 
course  at  various  times  when  trouble  came  betrayed  weakness.  The  Credit 
Mobilier  affair,  the  De  Golyer  business,  his  letter  of  acceptance,  and  many 


INTEREST  IN  POLITICAL  QUESTIONS        365 

Mr.  Hayes's  comment  on  President  Arthur's  first  message 
to  Congress  is  evidence  of  his  purpose  to  give  "a  warm  and 
sympathetic  support  as  far  as  he  was  right"  to  the  man  who 
had  come  so  unexpectedly  to  the  Chief  Magistracy  and  whose 
political  antecedents  made  all  conservative  people  at  the 
time  apprehensive  of  the  course  he  would  pursue.  Mr.  Hayes 
wrote :  — 

I  have  read  the  President's  message.  It  will  be  called  "a  business 
message."  That  is,  it  is  a  message  made  up  at  the  Departments,  with 
very  little  of  the  President  in  it.  The  important  questions  of  the  time 
are,  the  reform  of  the  civil  service,  the  Mormon  or  Utah  question,  and 
education  at  the  South.  He  leans  to  the  right  side  on  all  of  these  ques 
tions.  Perhaps  we  should  except  the  civil  service  question.  On  this 
subject  he  evidently  has  no  faith  in  the  reform,  but  in  deference  to 
public  sentiment  he  yields  so  far  as  to  recommend  an  appropriation  of 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars  to  carry  it  out,  and  expresses  a  readiness 
to  do  so. 

On  the  Mormon  question  he  strikes  in  the  back.  He  deals  with  it  as 
if  polygamy  were  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  affair.  Polygamy  is  one 
of  the  evils  attendant  upon  a  system  which  is  utterly  inconsistent  with 
our  republican  institutions.  Utah  is  now  governed  by  an  irresponsible 
priesthood.  It  is  a  hierarchy.  The  Mormon  Church  is  the  government. 
It  controls  Utah  and  is  likely  if  unchecked  to  govern  other  Territories 
which  will  soon  become  States.  The  remedy  —  the  only  remedy  —  is 
to  destroy  the  political  power  of  the  Mormon  Church.  No  union  of 
Church  and  State  is  one  of  the  foundation-stones  of  our  system.  Utah 
is  governed  by  the  Church  —  and  such  a  church !  Take  from  it  political 
power,  and  it  falls  and  polygamy  with  it,  within  five  years.  How  to  do 
this?  The  measure  should  be  radical.  Halfway  measures  have  been 
tried  for  twenty-five  years.  They  have  failed.  Let  the  Territorial 
Government  of  Utah  be  reorganized.  Let  all  power  —  I  mean,  of  course, 
all  the  power  that  it  is  deemed  wise  to  entrust  to  a  merely  Territorial 
Government  —  be  vested  in  the  registered  voters  of  the  Territories. 
Let  these  alone  hold  office,  vote,  and  sit  on  juries.  Allow  no  man  to  be 
registered  who  does  not  prove  affirmatively  to  the  satisfaction  of  United 
States  courts,  or  other  United  States  officials,  that  he  neither  practises 
the  crime  of  polygamy,  nor  belongs  to  nor  supports  any  church  or  other 
organization  which  upholds  it. 

On  Southern  education  by  the  aid  of  the  general  Government,  the 
President  is  in  sentiment  favorable  and  sound;  but  he  evidently  doubts 
the  constitutional  power  of  the  general  Government  to  do  what  is  re 
quired.  There  is  no  ground  for  hesitation  for  this  reason.  The  general 

times  his  vacillation  when  leading  the  House,  place  him  in  another  list  from 
Lincoln,  Clay,  Simmer,  all  the  other  heroes  of  our  civil  history." 


366  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

Government  has  made  voters  of  the  late  slaves.  It  is  its  duty  to  fit 
them  —  to  enable  them  to  vote.  Let  education  be  provided  for  them, 
through  the  States  if  they  can  and  will  faithfully  discharge  the  duty, 
and  independent  of  them  if  they  refuse  or  fail. 

On  the  large  list  of  important  subjects  with  which  government  deals, 
the  message  is  sound  and  explicit.  Notably  so  on  foreign  affairs,  the 
Panama  canal,  the  finances,  the  Indians,  and  the  Southern  situation. 
On  the  latter  subject  the  silence  of  the  message  is  more  significant  than 
anything  the  President  could  have  said.  The  question  is  settled.  The 
policy  of  the  last  Administration  is  acquiesced  in  even  by  the  most 
"stalwart  of  the  Stalwarts."  * 

Mr.  Hayes  watched  with  great  interest  the  course  of  politics 
in  1884.  This  is  made  evident  by  the  following  extracts  from 
the  diary:  — 

April  19  y  1884.  —  The  elections  of  delegates  to  the  Chicago  Republi 
can  Convention  show  Elaine  to  be  the  favorite  candidate.  Possibly  not 
enough  so  to  nominate  him.  He  is  clearly  in  advance  largely  of  any 
other  leader,  but  may  not  get  more  delegates  than  all  others  combined. 
He  fails  in  two  points  as  a  candidate.  He  lacks  the  confidence  of 
thoughtful,  high-minded,  and  patriotic  people.  They  doubt  his  per 
sonal  integrity  and  they  think  he  is  a  demagogue.  Besides,  his  record 
as  a  partisan  places  him  in  opposition  to  large  elements  of  the  party. 
The  Stalwart  element  —  the  Grant  men  of  1880  —  do  not  like  him  and 
the  independent  men  oppose  him.  He  is,  therefore,  not  the  most  avail 
able  man,  and  not  the  best  man  named  for  the  office.  Either  Edmunds, 
Lincoln,  or  Sherman  would  be  a  better  President,  and  a  better  candidate. 

1  Diary,  December  10,  1881.  —  Compare  the  following  excerpt  from  a  letter 
to  William  Henry  Smith,  of  December  14,  1881 :  — 

"In  politics,  it  is  observable,  I  think,  that  the  President  moves  with  great 
caution.  This  is  the  feature  that  strikes  one  in  his  message.  When  he  leans  to 
the  right  side,  as  on  Mormonism,  education  at  the  South,  etc.,  etc.,  he  is  timidly 
careful  to  make  no  decided  or  distinct  committals.  He  is  almost  Van  Burenish 
in  noncommittalism.  And  when  he  leans  to  the  wrong  side,  as  on  the  civil  service 
question,  he  is  even  more  careful  to  avoid  decided  expressions.  Perhaps  in  the 
present  prosperous  condition  of  the  country  this  caution  is  politically  wise.  We 
want  to  be  let  alone.  King  Log  is  not  a  bad  king  sometimes. 

"I  look  upon  these  three  as  the  real  questions  at  this  time:  The  civil  service, 
education  at  the  South,  and  the  Mormon  hierarchy.  On  all  of  them  it  seems  to 
me  the  time  has  come  for  decided,  comprehensive,  and  radical  measures.  The 
civil  service  is  likely  to  have  attention  enough.  Southern  education  should  be 
aided  largely,  liberally,  efficiently,  and  promptly. 

"The  Mormon  Church  should  be  deprived  of  its  political  power.  It  is  idle  to 
waste  time  on  one  of  its  minor  incidents  —  polygamy.  That  will  fall  the  instant 
that  the  priesthood  lose  their  political  power.  No  man  should  vote,  hold  office, 
or  sit  on  juries  who  upholds  the  union  of  Church  and  State  which  nourishes  the 
vices  and  despotisms  of  Utah." 


INTEREST  IN  POLITICAL  QUESTIONS        367 

He  does  not  belong  to  the  class  of  leaders  of  whom  Hamilton,  Jeffer 
son,  Clay,  Calhoun,  Seward,  Lincoln,  and  Webster  are  types.  He  is  of 
the  Butler  and  Douglas  type  —  more  like  Douglas  in  character  and 
position  than  any  other  of  the  great  leaders  of  the  past.  Clay  would 
rather  be  right  than  be  President.  Elaine  would  gladly  be  wrong  to 
be  President.  I  still  hope  Edmunds  may  be  the  nominee,  or  Lincoln, 
or  Sherman. 

June  8.  —  The  event  of  the  week  is  the  nomination  of  Blaine  at  Chi 
cago.  Mr.  Blaine  is  not  an  admirable  person.  He  is  a  scheming  dema 
gogue,  selfish  and  reckless.  But  he  is  a  man  of  ability  and  will,  if  elected, 
be  a  better  President  than  he  has  been  politician.  He  will,  I  think,  try 
to  have  the  support  of  the  best  people,  and  to  make  a  creditable  record. 
I  will,  therefore,  support  him  in  preference  to  the  Democratic  candi 
date.  He  was  fairly  nominated.  The  Republican  masses  were  for  him. 
There  is  no  suspicion  of  machine  influence  as  the  means  of  his  nomina 
tion. 

July  12.  —  The  Democratic  nominations  at  Chicago  are  Cleveland 
and  Hendricks.  Cleveland  will  be  satisfactory  to  the  independent  Re 
publicans.  He  will  draw  also  from  the  Germans.  However,  they  are 
to  be  classed  as  independent  Republicans.  The  result  depends  on  the 
Irish,  and  Tammany  bolters  from  the  nominations.  If  they  generally 
support  the  ticket,  it  is  likely  to  be  elected.  Cleveland  will,  I  suspect, 
be  weakest  at  the  beginning  of  the  canvass,  and  gain  as  it  proceeds. 
This,  without  having  seen  any  indication  of  the  reception  the  result  has 
in  the  public  mind. 

November  11.  —  There  has  been  little  genuine  enthusiasm  for  Cleve 
land  in  this  region.  Indeed,  I  may  say,  none  at  all.  The  dark  blot  on 
his  private  life  does  not  imply  his  entire  unfitness  for  his  public  life. 
Many  a  man  is  blamable  in  th«  same  way  who  is  upright  and  patriotic. 
But  the  facts,  taken  altogether,  have  been  a  wet  blanket  to  his  sup 
porters.  The  nomination  of  Blaine  was  unwise.  Either  of  the  Shermans, 
Hawley,  or  Gresham,  or  Harrison,  would  have  probably  been  elected.1 

1  Mr.  Hayes  had  gone  to  Cincinnati  on  election  day.  The  next  day  he  wrote 
Mrs.  Hayes:  — 

"It  now  seems  probable  that  Blaine  is  defeated.  With  all  the  disappointment 
one  can  see  some  compensations.  It  turns  out,  not  as  we  hoped,  but  as  we  feared 
at  the  time  of  the  nomination.  The  record  of  our  candidate  and  factional  griefs 
in  New  York  lost  that  State.  Look  at  Oneida  County  —  the  county  of  Cenk- 
ling,  where  Gail  Hamilton's  letter  (exposed  in  the  Evening  Post  a  short  time  ago) 
did  such  mischief.  Indeed,  her  letters  in  the  Tribune  hurt  more  than  the  number 
of  votes  we  lack  in  New  York.  I  dread  the  turning  back  of  the  hands  of  the  clock 
in  the  Southern  business  and  in  the  reform  of  the  civil  service. 

"I  am  glad  Ohio  has  done  so  well.  But,  after  all,  the  march  of  events  will 
go  on.  Our  destiny  does  not  depend  on  a  single  election,  nor  on  any  number  of 
elections.  You  will  see  other  sources  of  consolation." 


368  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

November  13.  —  I  wrote  as  follows  to  my  old  college  chum,  Guy  M. 
Bryan,  of  Texas:  — 

"I  have  no  prejudices  against  Cleveland.  The  scandals  of  the  cam 
paign  were  shocking.  In  naming  a  candidate  there  should  be  greater 
care.  But  you  and  I  know  —  all  men  of  experience  and  observation 
know  —  that  the  kernel  of  truth  under  it  all  does  not  disqualify  him 
for  public  duties.  It  is  within  the  knowledge  of  us  all  that  integrity, 
firmness,  wisdom,  and  the  executive  faculty,  with  the  truest  patriotism, 
are  found  in  men  who  are  not  without  that  sin.  Certainly  I  am  in  a 
frame  of  mind  to  judge  him  charitably  and  to  give  his  Administration 
a  fair  trial.  He  is  pledged  to  the  right  side  of  the  most  important  ad 
ministrative  policy  now  before  the  country,  namely,  the  civil  service 
reform.  He  will  have  a  decided  majority  on  this  question  in  the  im 
portant  branch  of  Congress  with  him  and  can  easily  go  forward  in  the 
right  direction. 

"The  Republican  party  is  not  condemned.  It  has  its  old  strength. 
Both  parties  were  divided  by  their  nominations.  The  Republican  divi 
sions  by  a  mere  scratch  in  the  pivotal  State  lost  the  prize.  It  gains  in 
both  houses  of  Congress;  it  carries  the  Senate  and  would  tie  the  House 
if  the  apportionment  in  this  and  other  States  was  fair.  The  constitu 
tional  amendments,  if  obeyed,  would  have  given  us  four  to  six  States 
in  the  South,  and  carried  the  Presidency. 

"But  it  is  of  no  use  to  argue;  the  stream  of  time  flows  on;  the  march 
of  events  will  not  be  greatly  changed.  The  people  are  the  Government. 
Their  character  does  not  change  with  the  results  of  elections.  Years 
and  generations  are  required  to  change  the  people.  I  hope  you  are  for 
aid  to  education  in  the  States  by  the  nation.  It  seems  to  be  our  best 
chance  to  bring  up  the  neglected  elements  of  our  population.  This  is  a 
longer  talk  than  usual  on  politics.  Like  you,  I  am  a  looker-on  except 
as  to  education.  On  that  /  am  persistent,  in  and  out  of  season,  before 
all  sorts  of  audiences. 

"Your  trouble  is  mine  —  acres,  taxes,  meagre  income;  but  lands 
will  sell  sometime.  I  do  not  borrow  trouble  because  just  now  real 
estate  is  dull  of  sale." 

New  York,  December  10.  —  Called  on  Schurz  at  the  elegant  residence 
of  Dr.  Jacobi,  110  W.  34th  Street.  A  long,  good  conversation  on  politics. 
He  read  me  an  elaborate  letter  he  has  written,  on  request,  to  the  Presi 
dent-elect.  It  asserts  civil  service  reform  to  be  the  test  measure  of  the 
new  Administration;  that  to  carry  it  out  Cleveland  must  have  in  his 
leading  Cabinet  places  men  who  will  be  sincerely  honest  in  its  behalf. 
I  told  him  there  was  the  practical  difficulty ;  —  there  are  not  such  men 
of  good  standing  in  the  party.  To  this  Schurz  assented.  Then  pledge 
them  to  its  loyal  support.  ?  ?  Here  is  the  rub. 

March  4,  1885.  —  Inauguration  day.  I  am  pleased  with  Cleveland 
much  better  than  a  majority  of  his  party  seem,  to  be.  His  letter  on  the 


INTEREST  IN  POLITICAL  QUESTIONS        369 

eighty-five-cent  silver  dollar  is  sensible  and  well  put.  It  is  against  the 
grounds  taken  by  a  majority  of  his  party.  It  is  a  sound  and  bold  act. 
He  appears  to  be  faithful  to  his  committals  on  the  subject  of  a  reform 
of  the  civil  service.  I  am  hopeful  that  he  will  prove  a  good  Chief 
Magistrate. 

March  23,  1885.  —  Heard  of  the  President's  appointments  to  Eng 
land,  France,  etc.,  etc.  I  like  Phelps,  Pendleton,  etc.,  etc.  The  President 
is  doing  extremely  well,  and  deserves  the  support  so  far  of  the  people 
of  all  parties.  I  no  doubt  like  him  better  than  the  majority  of  those  who 
elected  him.  He  is  sound  on  the  currency,  the  tariff,  and  the  reform  of 
the  civil  service. 

Mr.  Hayes  consistently  maintained  toward  Mr.  Cleveland 
the  attitude  indicated  by  his  quoted  words,  though  he  did  not 
approve  of  all  his  actions,  especially  in  regard  to  pensions,  and 
did  not  relax  in  the  least  in  his  devotion  to  the  Republican  party 
and  in  his  desire  to  see  it  restored  to  power.  Any  suggestion  of 
himself  as  a  possible  candidate  in  1888  he  deprecated.  The 
course  of  his  thought  in  the  campaign  of  that  year  and  the 
period  preliminary  to  it  is  sufficiently  indicated  by  the  following 
entries  in  the  diary :  — 

June  8,  1888.  — Governor  R.  B.  Bullock  having  sent  me  a  newspaper 
in  which  he  speaks  favorably  of  me,  of  my  Administration,  of  Mrs. 
Hayes,  and  of  my  availability  as  a  candidate  for  President  in  1888,  I 
wrote  hastily  as  follows :  — 

Confidential.  FREMONT,  OHIO,  11  July,  1887. 

MY  DEAR  GOVERNOR,  —  I  thank  you  for  the  copy  of  the  [Atlanta] 
Constitution,  and  am  greatly  gratified  that  you  can  speak  in  a  way  so 
complimentary  of  my  public  conduct. 

It  is  not  necessary,  I  suppose,  to  assure  you  of  my  settled  purpose 
not  again,  under  any  temptation,  to  take  part  in  public  life. 

My  preference  for  our  next  candidate  is  Mr.  Sherman,  and  under  no 
circumstances  would  I  consider  it.  The  action  of  both  parties  in  1880, 
and  the  result  of  the  election  of  that  year,  afforded  ample  recognition 
of  my  title  and  of  the  acceptability  of  my  Administration.  The  Demo 
cratic  party,  if  they  would  insist  upon  the  fraud  issue,  were  bound  to 
renominate  Til  den.  Their  failure  to  do  it  was  a  confession  of  judgment 
on  that  question.  Besides,  they  did  nominate  Hancock,  who  was  openly 
and  decidedly  against  the  fraud  issue,  and  personally  and  officially 
friendly  to  me.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Republican  party  took  bold 
ground  on  the  fraud  issue.  Senator  Hoar  presided  over  our  convention. 
He  was  one  of  the  Electoral  Commission. 

The  convention  nominated  for  President  the  public  man  who,  of  all 
others,  was  most  closely  identified  with  the  decision  in  my  favor,  and 


370  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

against  Tilden.  He  was  a  "visiting  statesman"  to  Louisiana  and  re 
ported  to  me,  and  the  President,  and  the  country  that  Louisiana  in 
equity  and  law  belonged  to  the  Republican  column.  As  one  of  the 
Electoral  Commission  he  insisted  with  vigor  and  determination  on 
every  step  that  led  to  the  final  result,  and  voted  with  the  eight  (8)  who 
decided  the  contest  in  my  favor.  Had  he  voted  otherwise  the  issue 
would  have  been  different. 

The  Democrats  made  the  point  against  Garfield.  Tilden  himself  in 
person  urged  it  in  public  speech  and  in  letters.  The  people  in  New 
York,  Connecticut,  and  Indiana  reversed  their  vote  of  1876  and  de 
cided  in  our  favor.  This  is  sufficient  endorsement. 

I  have  never  had  any  misgivings  about  1876  since  the  facts  were 
fully  known.  We  were  equitably  entitled  to  more  States  than  were 
counted  for  us  and  to  a  decided  majority  of  the  popular  vote.  But  this 
is  ancient  history.  Your  kind  words  are  very  grateful  to  me.  I  can  say 
positively  that  I  am  content.  I  tried  to  do  well  —  to  benefit  the  whole 
country  by  restoring  the  old-time  good  feeling  between  South  and 
North.  I  think  something  was  accomplished. 

Sincerely,  your  obliged  friend, 

R.    B.    HAYES.1 

GOVERNOR  BULLOCK. 

The  nomination  of  Cleveland  and  Thurman  at  St.  Louis  is  an 
nounced.  Thurman's  nomination  hurts  the  Democrats  in  the  doubtful 
State  of  Indiana.  Is,  therefore,  perhaps  not  "good  politics."  But  it  is 
pleasant  to  see  that  his  independent  and  honorable  course  in  the  trial 
of  the  ballot-box  frauds  at  Columbus  has  not  driven  Judge  Thurman 
from  his  party. 

June  22, 1888. —  I  am  interested  in  the  success  of  Sherman  at  Chi 
cago.  A  noble  President  he  would  make.  It  is  probable  he  would  prove 
also  available  as  a  candidate  because  he  is  fittest.  The  others  named  are 
good  men ;  Harrison,  Depew,  Allison,  especially  so.  The  three  ballots  place 
Sherman  ahead,  249.  No  other  over  about  130.  But  this  proves  little. 

1  "We  had  a  good  visit  last  week  from  my  old  friend  and  stanchest  and  most 
efficient  political  supporter,  Hon.  William  Henry  Smith,  the  chief  manager  of  the 
Associated  Press.  .  .  .  He  is  working  up  the  almost  desperate  struggle  against 
Elaine's  second  nomination.  He  prefers  Sherman  and  is  very  hopeful  of  victory 
for  Sherman.  But  failing  that  will  take  Sheridan,  Harrison,  Gresham,  Hawley, 
or  anybody  to  beat  Elaine.  It  still  looks  to  a  calm  outsider  (to  wit,  your  paternal) 
as  if  the  Plumed  Knight  can  get  the  nomination  if  he  wishes  it,  and  as  if  his 
friends  will  find  it  not  difficult  to  persuade  him  that  a  second  race  is  necessary 
for  his  vindication.  No  doubt  Mr.  Cleveland's  free  trade  message  has  brightened 
Republican  prospects.  For  more  than  twenty  years  existing  legislation  has 
enticed  capital  and  labor  into  manufactures.  This  is  especially  true  of  these 
last  few  years.  To  strike  them  down  now  at  a  blow  looks  like  cruelty  and  bad 
faith.  It  will  hardly  be  done."  (From  letter  of  Mr.  Hayes  to  his  daughter, 
December  18,  1887.) 


INTEREST  IN  POLITICAL  QUESTIONS        371 

June  24-  —  The  Republican  convention  adjourned  until  Monday. 
Depew  withdrew  in  a  handsome  speech.  On  the  last  ballot  yesterday 
Sherman  was  still  slightly  ahead  —  224  to  Harrison's  223  or  213.  New 
York  went  to  Harrison  for  the  most  part.  General  Harrison  would 
probably  be  a  good  candidate  —  possibly  the  best.  —  Possibly  a  very 
excellent  candidate.  His  ancestry  would  tell;  he  is  a  soldier;  he  is  in  a 
doubtful  State;  his  civil  record  is  good;  he  is  a  firm,  sound  man;  his 
personal  character  is  clear  and  high. 

The  danger  is  Elaine.  After  his  letters  to  nominate  him  would 
be  a  mistake.  The  acceptance  now  would  seem  like  a  trick.  The 
charge  of  a  lack  of  sincerity  and  integrity  would  stick  worse  than 
ever. 

June  35.  —  Read  quite  fully  the  proceedings  at  Chicago.  While  I 
think  it  very  unwise  to  nominate  Elaine  again,  those  who  wish  it  at 
Chicago  have  certainly  thus  far  acted  with  good  sense  and  entire  fair 
ness,  so  far  as  I  can  see.  They  seem  to  give  all  opponents  a  fair  hearing, 
and  to  aim  to  nominate  their  favorite  only  when  it  is  shown  that  no 
other  can  get  a  majority.  If  to  this  they  add  the  condition  that  all 
other  candidates  or  their  friends  consent  to  his  nomination,  I  do  not 
see  but  he  is  relieved  from  all  committals  to  the  contrary,  and  may  be 
supported  heartily  by  all  Republicans. 

If  McKinley  is  nominated  it  will  be  in  order  for  me  to  congratulate 
him  with  "We're  tenting  to-night  on  the  old  camp  ground."  1 

Harrison  nominated  on  the  eighth  ballot.  Majority  large.  He  is 
received  here  with  much  satisfaction;  yes,  with  enthusiasm. 

June  26.  — The  Harrison  and  Morton  nominations  are  sound  politics. 
They  are  likely  to  be  very  popular  and  strong.  Enthusiasm  will  begin 

1  "  In  the  evening  with  Fanny  attended  an  army  song  festival  by  the  Presby 
terian  Church  at  Opera  Hall.  ...  I  was  constantly  reminded  of  Lucy.  The 
'Tenting  on  the  Old  Camp  Ground'  recalled  so  vividly  the  night  of  election  day 
in  1875.  Sitting  with  her  in  our  home  in  Spiegel  Grove,  waiting  for  the  returns, 
we  said  we  were  prepared  for  either  event.  I  told  her  the  contest  was  close,  the 
result  doubtful.  She  spoke  cheerfully  of  the  way  we  would  bear  defeat.  'Our 
personal  interest  in  it  was  less  vital  than  the  cause,'  etc.,  etc.  We  both  knew 
well  enough  that  victory  meant  the  chance  for  the  Presidency;  the  certainty  that 
Ohio  would  present  my  name.  Defeat  meant  retirement  and  obscurity.  The 
first  return  was  a  dispatch  to  Lucy  from  Elyria  indicating  that  our  stronghold, 
the  Western  Reserve,  was  fully  aroused  and  would  give  an  old-time,  war-time 
majority.  Then  two  townships  of  Sandusky  County  gave  encouraging  gains; 
then  from  the  southwestern  part  of  the  State  a  ward  or  township  came  in  with 
the  same  drift.  There  was  a  lull  of  a  few  minutes  when  from  the  southeast,  from 
Marietta,  from  Major  Palmer,  of  the  gallant  old  Thirty-sixth,  came  a  dispatch 
which  without  figures  filled  the  cup.  It  read,  'We  are  tenting  to-night  on  the 
old  camp  ground.'  That  song  has  been  full  of  pathos  for  Lucy  and  me  always, 
but  since  that  dispatch  that  night  I  never  hear  it  without  deepest  feeling.  And 
now  alas!  Lucy  gone!"  (Diary,  October  23,  1889.) 


372  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

in  Indiana,  a  partisan  State,  usually  close.  The  people  give  much  time 
to  politics.  Harrison  will  stir  them  up.  Great  meetings  will  be  held. 
The  spirit  will  extend  to  other  States.  A  lively  campaign  all  over,  with 
the  chances  pretty  even,  but  inclining  to  the  Republicans. 

June  27.  —  I  wrote  to-day  to  Sherman  as  follows :  — 
"My  DEAR  SHERMAN,  —  You  know  how  I  and  Mrs.  Hayes  and  all 
of  my  household  feel  about  the  result  at  Chicago.  We  like  Harrison,  of 
course,  and  think  the  ticket  '  good  politics,'  in  the  sense  of  availability. 
But  you  were  so  clearly  entitled  to  it  by  service  and  fitness,  and  our 
personal  feelings  were  so  enlisted  that  we  cannot  think  of  it  without 
great  disappointment.  I  try  to  find  comfort  in  the  reflection  that  it  has 
become  usage  in  our  country  that  the  man  of  great  and  valuable  service 
in  civil  life  must  be  content  to  leave  the  Presidency  to  the  less  conspic 
uous  and  deserving.  In  this  case  the  one  fact  that  Indiana  was  doubt 
ful  and  Ohio  sure  compelled  the  adverse  decision.  The  first  statesman 
of  the  land  can't  be  nominated  when  this  consideration  is  not  in  his 
favor,  if  the  contest  is  close.  .  .  ." 

I  write  to  Major  McKinley  in  part  as  follows:  — 

"My  DEAR  MAJOR,  —  I  congratulate  you  heartily.  Depew  behaved 
handsomely.  He  left  the  convention  with  enhanced  reputation.  But 
who  else  was  so  fortunate?  You  gained  gloriously.  The  test  was  a 
severe  one,  but  you  stood  it  manfully.  It  was  finely  done.  A  better 
crown  than  to  have  been  nominated. 

"The  old  story  was  reenacted.  .  .  . 

"There  were  ambitious  men  near  you  at  Chicago.  That  of  course. 
Men  in  political  life  must  be  ambitious.  But  the  surest  path  to  the 
White  House  is  his  who  never  allows  his  ambition  to  get  there  to  stand 
in  the  way  of  any  duty,  large  or  small.  The  man  who  is  guided  by  ambi 
tion  alone,  who  acts  from  policy,  'cannot  somehow  sometimes  always 
tell.' 

"My  old  friend,  Judge  Johnston,  used  to  say,  'The  Presidency  is 
unlike  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  —  those  who  seek  shall  never  find.' 

"Since  1868,  twenty  years  ago,  [Republicans]  have  not  been  so 
united  as  they  are  now. 

"  I  could  not  help  telling  you  how  my  young  hero  looked  to  his  old 
friend  at  a  distance." 

June  £9.  — Harrison  and  Morton  seem  to  please  in  all  quarters.  No 
such  unity  among  Republicans  in  the  support  of  any  ticket  since  1868, 
twenty  years  ago.  In  1872  Grant's  unfortunate  Administration  had 
alienated  thousands  —  Greeley,  Sumner,  Depew,  and  a  host.  In  1876 
the  hard  times  and  the  Greenback  craze  took  off  thousands,  making 
Ohio  even  and  other  Western  States  doubtful.  Besides,  Conkling's 
disappointment  sent  him  to  his  tent  in  a  fit  of  sulk.  In  1880  again 
Conkling  was  sullen  and  hostile  with  his  Stalwart  followers  until  the 
canvass  was  nearly  finished.  Besides  this,  Garfield's  record  —  Credit 


INTEREST  IN  POLITICAL  QUESTIONS        373 

Mobilier,  De  Golyer,  etc.  —  was  a  load.  In  1884  Elaine's  record  drove 
off  thousands.  Now  all  are  content,  at  least  with  Harrison,  and  most  are 
enthusiastic. 

November  9.  — Went  to  Cincinnati  via  Toledo  after  voting  at  9  A.M. 
Rain  fell  during  the  day  beginning  early.  Called  a  Democratic  day  for 
election.  I  protested  that  the  Republicans  were  quite  as  energetic  as 
their  opponents,  and  that  the  weather  would  not  hurt.  It  so  turned  out. 
I  read  the  "  Life  of  Lincoln,"  by  Stoddard,  on  the  cars.  Rode  in  a  coupe 
to  my  friend's  home  —  Dr.  Davis.  ...  [In  the  evening]  went  to  the  office 
of  the  Commercial  Gazette.  Met  there  Halstead  and  Boynton.  Both 
hopeful,  and  the  returns  seemed  to  lean  our  way.  Thence  to  the  Lin 
coln  Club.  Admitted  by  strangers  without  a  ticket  on  giving  my  name. 
With  many  friends  —  Mayor  Smith,  Mack,  Noyes,  etc.,  etc.  —  gos- 
sipped  over  the  returns.  A  mass  outside  anxious  but  hopeful,  waiting 
for  definite  results.  It  became  noised  outside  among  the  multitude 
that  I  was  inside.  Calls  began.  They  grew  more  frequent.  The  no 
tion,  I  suspect,  prevailed  that  I  hesitated  to  show  myself  until  a  cer 
tainty  was  reached.  At  any  rate,  when  I  appeared  finally  at  the  window 
my  appearance  was  hailed  with  a  shout  from  the  "sea  of  upturned 
faces"  that  was  indeed  the  shout  of  victory.  I  never  before  saw  or 
heard  anything  like  it.  I  soon  went  home  to  Dr.  Davis's  well  satisfied 
that  the  result  was  with  us.  Before  going  I  spoke  to  the  members  on 
the  introduction  of  Governor  Noyes  in  their  assembly.  .  .  . 

Awoke  at  early  daylight.  I  listened  anxiously  to  hear  the  cries  of 
the  newsboys.  I  soon  recognized:  "All  about  the  election  of  General 
Harrison."  I  rose  hastily  and  went  out  in  the  rain.  Soon  got  a  Post 
and  Enquirer  which  confirmed  the  newsboy's  cry.  I  returned  in  a  grate 
ful  frame  of  mind.  "How  good,"  "How  good,"  I  murmured  to  myself. 
Such  is  government  under  our  system.  The  best  and  decentest  election 
I  ever  knew.  I  recall  distinctly,  boy  and  man,  elections  for  more  than 
fifty  years,  from  1836  when  I  was  a  schoolboy  at  Norwalk  Seminary. 
With  a  good  deal  of  respect  for  Cleveland,  and  with  sympathy  for  his 
young  wife,  I  cannot  but  specially  rejoice  that  such  good  people  as 
General  and  Mrs.  Harrison  are  to  carry  their  clean  ways  and  pure  lives 
into  the  White  House.  Besides,  I  do  hate  Cleveland's  course  towards 
the  veterans  of  war ! 

Almost  immediately  after  the  result  of  the  election  was  known, 
letters  from  all  sorts  of  people  who  were  "anxious  to  serve  their 
country,"  as  Mr.  Hayes  puts  it,  came  swarming  to  Spiegel 
Grove,  beseeching  Mr.  Hayes  to  say  a  good  word  to  Mr.  Harri 
son  in  behalf  of  the  writers.  To  most  of  these  he  replied  very 
briefly.  When  he  knew  men  to  be  worthy  and  competent  he 
was  glad  to  write  letters  to  that  effect  and  to  commend  them  to 
favorable  attention.  To  one  man  in  the  consular  service,  a  good 


374  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

officer  whom  he  had  himself  appointed,  who  was  not  satisfied 
with  such  a  letter  and  wrote  him  a  petulant  complaint,  he 
replied :  — 

...  I  am  asked  by  a  host  of  others  to  request  the  President  to  ap 
point  them.  They  say,  as  you  do,  without  a  moment's  thought,  "  This 
you  can  easily  secure  me."  Many  of  those  who  ask  this  are  old  friends, 
army  comrades,  and  persons  known  to  me  to  be  worthy.  To  grant  their 
demand  would  be  to  treat  with  disrespect  the  President,  and  to  put 
myself  in  the  absurd  attitude  of  assuming  the  appointing  power  of  the 
Executive ! 

All  I  do  is  to  give  a  testimonial  as  to  the  fitness  of  the  applicant,  and 
to  recommend  his  appointment.  .  .  . 

To  continue  the  excerpts  from  the  diary :  — 

March  4,  1889.  —  The  President  and  Mrs.  Cleveland  have  in  their 
personal  conduct,  so  far  as  I  know,  behaved  with  discretion,  modesty, 
good  nature,  and  good  sense,  with  possibly  one  exception.  For  them 
it  is  no  doubt  well  to  leave  the  high  place  now.  Those  who  are  in  such 
a  place  cannot  escape  its  unfortunate  influence  on  habits,  disposition, 
and  character.  In  that  envied  position  of  power  and  distinction  they 
are  deferred  to,  flattered,  and  supported  under  all  circumstances, 
whether  right  or  wrong,  or  wise  or  foolish,  by  shrewd  and  designing 
men  and  women  who  surround  them.  Human  nature  can't  stand  this 
long.  If  the  President  and  his  wife  are  to  return  to  private  life  at  all, 
it  is  better  to  do  it  at  the  end  of  four  years.  A  longer  life  in  the  artifi 
cial  and  hothouse  atmosphere  of  the  high  station  would  leave  an  im 
press  which  would  color  unfavorably  all  of  their  later  years.  Now  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Cleveland  can  escape  the  tendencies,  and  in  due  time  become 
again  good,  and,  I  hope,  happy  citizens. 

March  13.  —  The  President  makes  a  mistake  in  turning  the  appoint 
ments  over  to  the  Senators  and  Representatives.  They  will  use  it  to 
pay  debts.  It  is  a  return  to  the  spoils  system. 

November  5.  —  The  election  day  in  many  States.  .  .  .  The  Democrats 
seem  to  be  in  the  best  condition.  There  is  the  usual  dissatisfaction  to 
weaken  the  party  in  power  by  reason  of  the  spoils  doctrine;  then,  the 
dismissal  of  Tanner  hurts  with  the  soldiers.  Governor  Foraker  leans 
too  much  towards  the  boss  system  and  spoils  system.  He  is  injured 
greatly  by  this.  He  is  brilliant,  witty,  eloquent,  and  very  popular  with 
the  hurrah  boys,  but  the  sober  and  conservative  element  of  the  party 
dislike  his  methods  and  would  be  glad  to  see  him  run  behind  the  ticket. 
Some  want  him  beaten,  and  votes  will  be  lost.  I  hope  we  shall  carry 
the  State,  elect  Governor  Foraker  and  the  whole  ticket,  securing  the 
Senator,  etc.,  etc.  But  I  am  not  at  all  confident. 


INTEREST  IN  POLITICAL  QUESTIONS        375 

November  6.  —  The  Democrats  seem  to  have  carried  everything.  If 
the  reports  of  this  afternoon  are  correct  they  have  the  state  ticket  and 
Legislature  as  well  as  the  governorship.  It  was  anticipated  that  Foraker 
would  be  beaten,  but  it  was  hoped  that  the  state  ticket  and  Legislature 
might  be  saved.  It  is  useless  to  spend  time  on  causes.  They  are  easily 
seen.  Rutherford  [his  son]  suggests  one  consolation  for  this  household 
—  "It  leaves  you  the  only  Governor  ever  elected  for  a  third  term!" 

November  8.  —  The  Democrats  celebrate  their  victory  to-day.  Our 
gifted  and  brilliant  Governor  is  very  enthusiastically  supported  by  the 
strong  party  men.  He  is  an  extreme  partisan,  and  those  who  are  like 
him  in  this  respect  stick  to  him.  But,  as  often  happens  with  such  men, 
he  is  unpopular  at  the  polls  —  more  so  than  Blaine;  as  much  so  as 
Conkling  would  have  been  in  a  state  or  national  election.  He  is  lacking 
in  sober  judgment.  His  partisanship  blinds  him  —  makes  him  an  un 
safe  leader;  and  his  bitter  sarcasm  excites  a  corresponding  animosity 
against  him.  It  was  unwise  to  run  him  a  third  time. 

March  27,  1890.  —  The  Administration  does  not  make  appointments 
hastily.  Great  care  taken  by  the  President.  Not  always  happy  in  the 
way  of  doing  it;  a  lack  of  tact,  perhaps,1  but  conscientious  and  judicious. 

November  4*  —  This  is  the  day  of  the  general  election.  I  anticipate 
Democratic  gains,  a  Democratic  Congress.  The  first  election  of  im 
portance  after  a  new  President  is  affected  by  the  disappointments  of 
office-seekers,  and  the  other  failures  to  meet  extravagant  hopes.  In 
this  case  also  the  new  tariff  law,  the  McKinley  Bill,  is  easily  misrepre 
sented  as  increasing  the  cost  of  all  goods.  On  the  whole,  all  that  is  saved 
in  the  general  disaster  is  gain.  But  we  shall  see.  For  McKinley  himself, 
defeat,  if  it  comes  to  him,  is  no  serious  disaster.  The  sober  second 
thought  will  perhaps  elect  him  Governor!  The  see-saw  of  political  life 
is  to  be  counted  on. 

June  5,  1892.  —  Blaine  resigns  from  Harrison's  Cabinet  —  bad  rela 
tions  between  Blaine  and  Harrison;  more  important,  between  Mrs. 
Blaine  and  Mrs.  Harrison.  Now  a  fight  for  the  nomination  at  the  Re 
publican  National  Convention,  the  7th!  There  may  be  enough  division 
and  hostility  to  defeat  the  Republicans.  It  clouds  their  prospects  for 
the  time.  Probably  the  only  chance  is  to  drop  both  Blaine  and  Harrison 
and  combine  on  Sherman,  McKmley  or  —  ?  Elaine's  former  conduct, 

1  This  lack  of  tact  is  again  referred  to  in  a  letter  to  General  Force  (December 
20,  1891):  "I  send  you  a  note  to  President  Harrison,  a  good  man  and  a  good 
President,  but  with  an  unfortunate  lack  of  tact  and  good-natured  manners.  His 
coldness  and  indifference  when  meeting  strangers  is  sometimes  offensive.  A 
friend  of  his  about  to  introduce  to  him  some  nice  people,  ladies  and  gentlemen, 
said  to  them:  'Don't  think  he  means  to  insult  you;  it  is  his  way!'  I  never  hap 
pened  to  notice  an  extreme  case  of  this  sort  —  but,  etc." 


376  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

with  this,  will  carry  many  Republicans  into  opposition  if  he  is  nomi 
nated.  Insincerity  and  lack  of  honesty,  in  the  opinion  of  many  good 
people,  will  injure  Elaine  if  he  is  in  the  race.  He  is  popular,  very, 
but  lacks  the  confidence  to  command  support  with  the  thoughtful  and 
conservative. 

June  10.  —  Half -past  four  P.M.  Telephone  from  the  Journal  office 
that  Harrison  was  nominated  on  the  first  ballot.  This  is  well  —  perhaps 
the  best  possible  under  all  the  circumstances.  It  gives  Elaine  a  very 
black  eye.  He  came  into  the  fight  when  he  was  honorably  bound  to  keep 
out.  He  had  the  support  of  almost  all  of  the  unscrupulous  bosses,  Platt, 
Quay,  Foraker,  Clarkson,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.  Harrison  represents  the  best 
elements  of  the  party.  I  hope  McKinley  has  borne  himself,  as  I  am 
confident  he  has,  as  a  man  of  honor  should.  Judge  Lucius  B.  Otis, 
formerly  a  partner  of  Uncle  in  banking  here,  for  thirty  or  forty  years 
a  capitalist  of  Chicago,  is  visiting  at  Aunty  Miller's.  He  thinks  Harri 
son  is  not  a  popular  candidate.  "He  is  a  deacon  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  They  are  never  liked  by  the  people.  They  are  stiff,  cold,  dis 
tant.  They  are  the  elect  of  God  —  by  faith,  not  works,  to  be  saved, 
etc.,  etc." 

November  8.  —  Election  day.  The  lack  of  interest  continues.  Whether 
Harrison  or  Cleveland  is  in  doubt.  If  a  full  discussion  had  been  had, 
I  think  Harrison's  reelection  would  have  come  with  the  vote  of  every 
Northern  State.  As  it  is,  it  seems  to  me  the  chance  of  Cleveland  is  the 
best.  The  country  can  stand  it. 

November  9.  —  The  election  is  reported  "a  landslide"!  Even  Ohio  is 
claimed  by  the  Democrats.  As  I  see,  both  candidates  lack  personal 
popularity.  Neither  excites  enthusiasm  with  the  active  men  in  politics, 
the  workers.  This  has  led  to  the  most  lethargic  canvass  ever  known  in 
a  Presidential  contest.  This  is  explanation  number  one;  for  in  such  a 
canvass  the  Democrats  always  have  the  advantage.  The  saloons  can 
rally  out  the  ignorant  elements,  so  large  in  the  Democratic  party. 
Second,  the  outs  always  have  the  better  chance.  Third,  and  chiefly: 
The  labor  vote,  holding  the  balance  of  power  and  better  organized  than 
ever  before,  joined  the  Democrats.  This  is  shown  by  the  vote  of  the 
large  cities  —  Boston,  Brooklyn,  New  York,  Chicago;  and,  in  Ohio, 
notably  Youngstown  and  Mahoning  County,  Canton  and  Stark  County, 
Newark  and  Licking  County,  Akron  and  Summit  County,  and 
Cleveland.  They  evidently  thought  they  did  not  get  their  share  of 
the  profits  of  their  labor  by  an  increase  of  wages  —  the  argument  of 
Governor  Campbell,  shrewdly  and  persistently  urged :  "Where  is  the 
workingman  who  gets  an  increase  of  wages  and  better  employment 
under  the  McKinley  Bill?"  Workingmen  saw  the  capitalists  going  to 
Europe  to  spend  the  fortunes  acquired  in  America,  while  labor  was 
not  in  an  equal  degree  benefited  by  protection.  So  labor,  holding  the 
balance  of  power,  threw  its  votes  in  favor  of  a  change. 


INTEREST  IN  POLITICAL  QUESTIONS        377 

How  about  the  future?  At  the  next  general  election,  with  a  free  trade 
or  revenue  tariff  enacted  by  the  Democrats,  will  Governor  Campbell 
ask:  "What  laborer  gets  better  wages  by  reason  of  the  new  law?" 
or  will  it  be  Governor  McKinley  that  will  repeat  that  question  with  an 
emphasis  that  will  win  back  the  balance  of  power?  l 

These  citations  from  the  diary  indicate  that  Mr.  Hayes  never 
lost  his  grasp  of  political  conditions  and  forces.  He  was  acute 
in  observing  the  drift  of  public  opinion  and  in  forecasting  prob 
able  results.  The  very  day  after  the  election  of  1892  he  seemed 
to  have  prescience  of  what  was  to  happen  in  1896. 

It  remains  to  say  a  word  about  Mr.  Hayes's  attitude  toward 
certain  large  questions  of  political  and  social  import.  He  be 
lieved  that  it  would  be  to  the  advantage  of  all  concerned  if 
Canada,  in  an  altogether  amicable  manner,  could  be  made  a 
part  of  the  Union.  There  was  much  talk  of  such  a  possibility 
from  time  to  time  on  both  sides  of  the  line,  but  never  enough 
sentiment  in  its  favor  to  make  it  more  than  a  dream.  Mr. 
Hayes  gives  his  thought  on  the  subject  in  his  diary  (May  25, 
1879)  in  this  paragraph:  — 

The  annexation  to  the  United  States  of  the  adjacent  parts  of  the 
continent  both  north  and  south  seems  to  be,  according  to  the  phrase  of 
1844,  our  "manifest  destiny."  I  am  not  in  favor  of  artificial  stimulants 
to  this  tendency.  But  I  think  I  see  plainly  that  it  is  now  for  the  interest 
of  both  Canada  and  the  United  States  that  properly  and  in  order,  and 
with  due  regard  to  the  feelings  of  Great  Britain,  the  two  countries 
should  come  under  one  Government.  If  it  were  known  that  we  would 
probably  pay  the  whole  or  part  of  the  Canadian  debts,  or  would  assume 
to  pay  them,  would  it  not  stimulate  the  feeling  in  favor  of  annexation 
in  Canada? 

On  the  very  day  that  this  was  written  Mr.  William  Henry 
Smith  happened  to  be  a  visitor  at  the  White  House.  He  wrote 
at  the  time  a  memorandum  of  his  conversation  with  the  Presi 
dent.  In  this  he  says :  — 

I  find  that  the  President  is  full  of  the  question  of  annexation  and 
would  like  to  bring  it  about  during  his  own  Administration.  He  is 
doing  everything  that  is  proper  to  have  the  question  fairly  considered 

1  "The  election:  the  wonder  is  the  landslide  was  not  more  sweeping.  The 
Democrats,  I  believe,  carried  just  half  of  the  States!"  (From  letter  to  William 
Henry  Smith,  November  20,  1892.) 


378  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

by  the  thoughtful  men  of  the  two  countries,  and  is  keeping  up  a  pretty 
active  correspondence.  He  counts  on  the  influence  of  the  heavy  debt 
which  Canada  has,  and  the  increasing  migration  from  one  [country]  to 
the  other.  His  plan  is1  for  the  United  States  to  assume  the  debt,  and 
for  our  people  to  push  into  the  Red  River  country  and  thus  americanize 
that  portion  of  the  country  from  Lake  Superior  to  the  Pacific.  This  is 
being  done  rapidly,  and  whether  in  the  time  of  this  Administration  or 
of  the  next,  it  is  soon  to  be.  I  told  him  of  the  efforts  of  the  present 
[Canadian]  Government  to  keep  the  people  of  Manitoba  loyal  through 
the  press,  of  which  I  became  aware  some  months  ago.  The  Prime  Min 
ister  had  purchased  press  and  all  material  needful  for  a  plant,  and  sup 
plied  money  to  the  extent  of  twenty -five  thousand  dollars  to  put  the 
paper  on  a  paying  basis.  His  agent  had  called  on  me  for  assistance  in  the 
way  of  obtaining  news  and  correspondence. 

The  President  believes  that,  when  the  conditions  are  favorable, 
negotiations  can  be  successfully  opened  with  the  British  Government. 
When  he  heard  that  the  Duke  of  Argyle  was  coming  to  visit  the  Mar 
quis  of  Lome,  he  invited  him  to  the  Executive  Mansion,  but  unfor 
tunately  the  state  of  his  health  is  such  [that]  the  Duke  felt  constrained 
to  deny  himself.  Already  Secretary  Evarts  has  been  invited  by  the 
Marquis  to  meet  the  Duke  at  the  Canadian  capital,  and  he  has  ac 
cepted.  Secretary  Evarts  is  not  as  sanguine  as  the  President. 

While,  of  course,  nothing  came  of  this  ambitious  enterprise, 
Mr.  Hayes  adhered  throughout  his  life  to  his  belief  in  the  de 
sirability  of  its  ultimate  consummation  and  frequently  recurred 
to  the  subject  in  conversation  with  friends.  He  believed  that 
coalition  would  bring  to  the  Union  an  added  conservative  force; 
and  would  result  for  Canada  in  vastly  more  rapid  development 
and  vastly  greater  prosperity. 

Mr.  Hayes  continued  to  the  end  of  his  life  to  believe  that  a 
single  Presidential  term  of  six  years,  to  provide  for  which  he  had 
in  his  inaugural  address  recommended  a  constitutional  amend 
ment,  would  be  a  most  desirable  reform.  In  the  last  year  of  his 
life  he  wrote  the  following  letter:  — 

SPIEGEL  GROVE,  FREMONT,  OHIO,  27  May,  1892. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  CURTIS,  —  I  have  long  had  it  in  mind  to  write  to  you 
in  behalf  of  a  single  Presidential  term  of  six  years,  and  to  urge  you  to 
make  it  the  special  aim  of  the  National  Civil  Service  Reform  League. 

This  letter  will  be  hastily  written,  but  the  suggestion  I  offer  has  been 
maturely  considered,  and  is  my  deliberate  opinion,  after  such  reflec 
tion  as  I  am  able  to  give.  A  few  days  ago  I  read  in  the  Civil  Service 


INTEREST  IN  POLITICAL  QUESTIONS        379 

Record  your  excellent  address  at  the  April  meeting  in  Baltimore.  The 
society  by  pegging  away  is  gaining  step  by  step.  But  here  is  an  op 
portunity.  The  country  is  ready  for  it.  It  will  give  the  society  prestige 
for  all  its  other  issues.  Receiving  Mr.  Eaton's  article  hi  the  North 
American  for  June  this  morning  decided  me  to  delay  no  longer.  Noth 
ing  is  more  in  the  way  of  the  reform  of  the  civil  service  than  the  Presi 
dent's  natural  desire  to  have  the  indorsement  of  a  second  term.  I 
respect  Mr.  Cleveland.  He  is  sound,  independent,  and  firm.  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  speak  well  of  him  on  all  occasions.  But  his  last  two  years 
—  well,  to  be  moderate,  did  not  strengthen  the  reform  of  the  civil  serv 
ice.  He  fell  a  victim  to  the  necessity  of  a  reelection.  The  society  you 
are  at  the  head  of  is  doing  good,  but  it  does  not  attract  new  supporters 
to  the  cause  as  it  would  do  with  the  salient  issue  of  One  Term  for  the 
Presidency.  Please  think  of  it.  I  see  reasons  in  all  directions  as  plenty 
as  blackberries.  But  I  will  spare  you  the  list. 

I  am  tempted  to  add  a  word  of  criticism  on  one  sentence  in  your 
address.  It  is  not  of  great  importance  and  the  statement  was  probably 
a  passing  inadvertence.  You  speak  of  the  use  of  patronage  by  the 
President  in  elections.  You  say:  "There  has  been  no  Administration 
since  that  of  John  Quincy  Adams  which  has  not  done  the  same  thing." 
Always  an  admirer  of  John  Quincy  Adams  and  of  his  public  career,  I 
am  yet  persuaded  that  while  he  personally  never  turned  his  hand  over 
to  get  promotion,  he  was  no  more  clear  of  offense  in  that  direction  than 
myself.  And  if  you  speak  of  those  under  him,  his  Cabinet  and  other 
officials,  high  and  low,  I  am  satisfied  that  they  interfered  in  elections 
more  than  those  under  me.  It  is  certain  he  did  not  do  half  as  much  to 
prevent  it  as  I  did.  I  can  speak  of  one  locality  and  you  must  know  of 
another.  My  files  of  newspapers  show  that  officeholders  were  in  force 
in  the  Adams  Convention  in  State  and  country  in  1828;  they  also 
show  that  in  1880,  for  the  first  time  since  party  government  began, 
they  were  conspicuous  by  their  absence  from  all  party  caucuses.  How 
was  it  in  the  pivotal  place  under  your  eyes  —  New  York  City?  Did 
Adams  officeholders  show  less  activity  in  machine  work  than  Col 
lector  Merritt,  Postmaster  James,  and  Naval  Officer  Burt?  But  I  am 
boring  you.  —  Sincerely, 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 

HON.  GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS. 

In  regard  to  temperance  Mr.  Hayes  believed  that  for  the  in 
dividual,  in  this  country  at  least,  the  only  absolute  safety  lay 
in  total  abstinence.1  He  sympathized  with  the  main  purpose  of 

1  In  July,  1891,  in  response  to  a  request  from  Mr.  John  A.  Bruce,  of  Glasgow, 
who  was  preparing  a  publication,  to  be  entitled  Why  I  am  a  Teetotaller,  Mr. 
Hayes  wrote  his  views  as  follows:  "Whatever  may  be  true  in  other  countries, 
I  am  satisfied  that  in  America  total  abstinence  from  intoxicating  liquors  is  the 
only  safety.  No  doubt  there  are  some  men  in  the  United  States  who  can  drink 


380  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

all  temperance  workers,  though  he  disapproved  the  intemper 
ance  of  speech  that  often  marred  their  oratory.  In  his  view,  the 
cause  was  best  to  be  served,  not  by  the  activities  of  a  separate 
political  party,  but  by  dependence  on  moral  and  religious  forces. 
He  regretted  to  see  the  tendency  of  the  Methodist  clergy  and 
church  to  identify  themselves  with  the  Prohibition  party,  be 
lieving  that  they  would  thereby  weaken  their  influence  in  the 
cause  of  righteousness.  "To  invoke  the  spirit  of  party,  and  to 
adopt  the  methods  of  practical  politics  in  behalf  of  religion  or 
temperance,  tends  to  increase  and  spread  the  evils  of  intem 
perance  and  to  weaken  and  destroy  the  power  and  influence 
of  religion."  *  The  true  methods  of  promoting  temperance,  he 
said,  "are  education,  example,  argument,  and  friendly  and 
sympathetic  persuasion.  Legislation  and  political  parties  in 
the  interest  of  temperance  all  aim  at  the  liquor-seller.  They  do 
not  reach  his  customers.  If  he  is  a  criminal,  what  is  the  man  who 
tempts  him?  If  there  are  no  customers  there  wTill  be  no  sellers. 
.  .  .  The  only  laws  which  apply  to  the  subject  are  laws  to  prevent 
nuisances.  When  the  liquor  business  becomes  a  nuisance  it  is 
not  a  question  for  temperance  people  merely,  but  all  citizens 
become  interested  in  removing  the  nuisance.  The  legislation 
required  in  such  cases,  therefore,  is  not  temperance  legislation, 
not  legislation  in  the  interest  of  temperance  reform  merely,  but 
legislation  in  the  interest  of  good  order,  for  the  suppression  of 
crime  and  violence,  and  such  legislation  may  well  be  left  to  the 
sense  of  duty  and  self-interest  of  the  community  at  large."  2 
Until  by  the  process  of  education  an  overwhelming  public 
opinion  condemned  the  buyer  as  well  as  the  seller  of  liquor,  he 
saw  that  prohibition  must  be  a  failure.3  In  1883,  therefore,  he 

in  moderation  without  injury  to  themselves.  But  the  majority  will  suffer  serious 
injury  and  many  will  be  ruined  by  the  habit.  No  man  can  know  beforehand  that 
he  can  remain  a  moderate  drinker.  For  Americans,  with  their  nervous  and  ex 
citable  temperament,  and  with  its  tendency  to  excess,  there  is,  in  my  opinion, 
no  halfway  house  between  total  abstinence  and  danger.  I  have  tried  total  ab 
stinence.  It  has  never  interfered  with  my  health  or  happiness  or  comfort,  but 
has  beyond  question  always  promoted  them." 

1  Diary,  August  27,  1881.  2  Diary,  October  12,  1881. 

8  "Statutes  which  embody  the  settled  public  opinion  of  the  people  who  en 
acted  them  (and  whom  they  are  to  govern)  can  always  be  enforced.  But  if  they 
embody  only  the  sentiments  of  a  bare  majority,  pronounced  under  the  influence 
of  a  temporary  excitement,  they  will  if  strenuously  opposed  always  fail  of  their 


INTEREST  IN  POLITICAL  QUESTIONS        381 

refused  to  vote  for  the  prohibition  amendment  to  the  state 
censtitution.  "The  amendment,"  he  said,  "would  be  something 
worse  than  a  dead  letter.  Its  effect  would  be  free  trade  in  liq 
uor."  *  In  his  earlier  life  he  had  hope  and  faith  in  the  Maine 
law  and  was  zealous  in  its  behalf.  But  observation  and  experi 
ence  had  demonstrated  its  lack  of  efficacy.  It  was  useless  to 
blink  the  facts.  "It  is  in  the  long  run  the  demand  that  brings 
the  supply.  Where  there  are  no  buyers  there  will  be  no  sellers. 
Where  there  are  many  buyers  there  will  be  sellers  in  spite  of 
your  laws.  To  the  vice  and  crimes  of  drink  you  will  add  the 
crimes  of  law-breaking,  of  perjury,  of  hypocrisy,  of  meanness! "  2 

Mr.  Hayes  was  never  greatly  impressed  with  the  merits  of 
the  agitation  in  favor  of  woman's  suffrage.  He  wrote  in  his 
diary,  April  27,  1870:  "My  point  on  this  subject  is  that  the 
proper  discharge  of  the  functions  of  maternity  is  inconsistent 
with  the  like  discharge  of  the  duties  of  (the  political  duties  of) 
citizenship."  Society  should  take  note  of  the  widening  scope 
of  women's  activities  and  adapt  its  educational  system  to  meet 
the  demands  that  were  thus  created.  His  attitude  is  sufficiently 
defined  by  the  following  statement :  — 

In  America  the  opportunities,  the  work  and  the  influence  of  women 
grow  wider  and  wider.  Whether  we  like  this  tendency  or  not,  we  can 
not  fail  to  see  it.  We  ought  to  recognize  it  in  the  training  of  our  girls. 
The  weak  point  in  female  education  in  this  country  is  the  neglect  of 
health.  We  have  too  much  bending  over  books  and  too  little  open-air 
exercise  —  too  many  studies,  too  little  work,  and  too  little  out-of-door 
play. 

My  wish  for  the  American  woman  is  that  she  may  always  be  an 
elevating  influence  —  man's  inspiration.  Let  him  go  forth  to  duty 
while  she  weaves  the  spell  which  makes  home  a  paradise  to  which  he 
may  return,  ever  welcome,  whether  he  is  victor  or  vanquished. 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 

SPIEGEL  GROVE, 
10  November,  1890. 

During  the  last  few  years  of  his  life  Mr.  Hayes  was  profoundly 
interested  in  the  social  problems  which  began  to  press  for  solu 
tion.  The  growing  unrest  of  the  laboring  masses,  flaming  forth 

object  —  nay,  they  are  likely  to  imperil  the  cause  they  are  framed  to  advance." 
(Diary,  February  17,  1882.) 

1  Diary,  October  9,  1883.  2  Diary,  November  5,  1889. 


382  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

at  times  in  the  violence  of  strikers  and  in  the  preaching  of  so 
cialistic  and  anarchistic  doctrines,  and  the  tremendous  con 
centration  of  wealth  in  a  few  hands,  with  the  heartlessness  and 
arrogance  frequently  displayed  by  exploiters  and  capitalists, 
were  evidence  to  him  that  society  and  government  must  busy 
themselves  in  bringing  about  a  larger  measure  of  social  justice. 
"A  few  get  more  than  their  share;  the  working,  productive 
many  get  less  than  their  share,"  he  wrote,  November  6,  1887. 
"That  is  the  corner-stone  fact  —  is  the  evil  to  be  prevented  in 
the  future  by  peaceful  and  lawful  means.  Of  course,  lawless 
ness  and  violence  are  to  be  put  down.  Order  and  property  are 
to  be  preserved."  1  A  few  days  later  (December  4,  1887)  he 
writes  in  the  diary :  — 

In  church  it  occurred  to  me  that  it  is  time  for  the  public  to  hear  that 
the  giant  evil  and  danger  in  this  country  —  the  danger  which  tran 
scends  all  others  —  is  the  vast  wealth  owned  or  controlled  by  a  few 
persons.  Money  is  power.  In  Congress,  in  State  Legislatures,  in  City 
Councils,  in  the  courts,  in  the  political  conventions,  in  the  press,  in  the 
pulpit,  in  the  circles  of  the  educated  and  the  talented,  its  influence  is 
growing  greater  and  greater.  Excessive  wealth  in  the  hands  of  the  few 
means  extreme  poverty,  ignorance,  vice,  and  wretchedness  as  the  lot 
of  the  many.  It  is  not  yet  time  to  debate  about  the  remedy.  The  previ 
ous  question  is  as  to  the  danger  —  the  evil.  Let  the  people  be  fully 
informed  and  convinced  as  to  the  evil.  Let  them  earnestly  seek  the 
remedy  and  it  will  be  found.  Fully  to  know  the  evil  is  the  first  step 
toward  reaching  its  eradication.  Henry  George  is  strong  where  he 
portrays  the  rottenness  of  the  present  system.  We  are,  to  say  the  least, 
not  yet  ready  for  his  remedy.  We  may  reach  and  remove  the  difficulty 
by  changes  in  the  laws  regulating  corporations,  descent  of  property, 
wills,  trusts,  taxation,  and  a  host  of  other  important  interests,  not  omit 
ting  lands  and  other  property.2 

1  In  a  speech  on  St.  Patrick's  Day,  1886,  in  Toledo,  at  a  banquet  of  St.  Pat 
rick's  Institute,  Mr.  Hayes  said:  "The  ideal  community  for  a  free  government 
in  one  in  which  all  are  educated,  in  which  all  are  or  have  been  workingmen,  and 
in  which  all  are  or  can  be  owners  of  homes.    In  America,  as  we  approach  this 
ideal  condition  the  foundations  of  our  institutions  grow  stronger.    As  we  drift 
away  from  it  they  are  more  and  more  imperilled.    As  long  as  the  workingman 
can  indulge  a  reasonable  hope  that  by  industry,  temperance,  and  frugality  he 
can  become  the  owner  of  a  home,  educate  his  children,  and  lay  up  a  competency 
for  his  support  in  old  age,  our  country  will  continue  to  be  the  land  of  the  free. 
Whatever  stands  in  the  way  of  this  stands  in  the  way  of  the  perpetuity  of  free 
dom  in  America." 

2  "The  real  difficulty  is  with  the  vast  wealth  and  power  in  the  hands  of  the 
few  and  the  unscrupulous  who  represent  or  control  capital.   Hundreds  of  laws 


INTEREST  IN  POLITICAL  QUESTIONS        383 

Among  the  papers  of  William  Henry  Smith  is  preserved  a 
contemporary  report  of  a  conversation  he  had  with  Mr.  Hayes 
a  few  days  after  the  above  words  were  written.  Mr.  Hayes  told 
of  being  in  New  York  a  few  weeks  before,  during  the  Henry 
George  mayoralty  campaign,  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Pea- 
body  Fund  trustees.  He  had  been  surprised  and  pleased  to  find 
that  several  of  the  most  eminent  of  these  trustees  were  in  full 
sympathy  with  the  George  movement,  or  at  least  with  the  ideas 
that  lay  behind  it.  Among  these  were  Robert  C.  Winthrop, 
personification  of  Puritan  culture  and  New  England  conserva 
tism,  who  saw  in  it "  a  protest  against  the  wrongs  that  had  grown 
up  and  were  now  threatening  the  life  of  the  Republic";  Chief 
Justice  Waite,  who  commended  it,  because,  he  said,  "The  dollar 
is  too  much  regarded;  character  and  humanity  too  little,"  and 
cited  the  case  of  the  recent  looting  of  a  prosperous  railway  by 
unscrupulous  capitalists;  and  Bishop  Whipple,  who  declared: 
"I  can  think  of  nothing  else.  I  lie  awake  nights  with  this  ques 
tion  constantly  in  mind,  and  uncertain  of  the  right  solution. 
There  are  great  inequalities  in  society;  suffering  and  depriva 
tion  on  the  one  side,  and  luxury  and  unjust,  dangerous  power 
in  the  hands  of  a  few.  There  is  an  awful  responsibility  resting 
upon  this  generation."  Mr.  Hayes  went  on  to  say:  — 

If  the  forces  of  the  present  day  continue  unchecked,  within  twenty- 
five  years  the  classes  will  stand  in  New  York,  every  nine  men  out  of  ten 
without  homes  or  capital,  one  tenth  owning  everything.  Then,  look 
out !  Reliance  on  force  will  not  do.  Building  of  fortifications  and  ships 
will  not  avail.  You  cannot  solve  the  problem  by  such  temporary  ex 
pedients.  How  shall  we  meet  it?  Justice  and  education  are  the  instru 
ments.  I  believe  the  intelligence  of  the  American  people  will  be  equal 
to  every  emergency  in  the  future  as  it  has  been  in  the  past.  Legislation 
must  cure  the  defects  —  this  is  the  true  remedy.  The  governmental 
policy  should  be  to  prevent  the  accumulation  of  vast  fortunes;  and 
monopolies,  so  dangerous  in  control,  should  be  held  firmly  in  the  grip 
of  the  people.  What!  leave  uncontrolled  a  power  that  buys  your  Coun 
cils,  your  Legislatures,  and  your  courts?  Shall  the  will  of  monopolies 
take  the  place  of  the  Government  of  the  people?  Monopoly  is  offensive; 
it  destroys  individual  enterprise;  it  antagonizes  the  principle  of  personal 

of  Congress  [and  of]  all  the  State  Legislatures  are  in  the  interest  of  these  men  and 
against  the  interests  of  workingmen.  These  need  to  be  exposed  and  repealed. 
All  laws  on  corporations,  on  taxation,  on  trusts,  wills,  descent,  and  the  like  need 
examination  and  extensive  change."  (Diary,  March  11,  1888.) 


384  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

liberty  which  is  the  very  corner-stone  of  republican  government;  it  is 
a  menace  to  the  people.  The  Standard  Oil  is  a  liberal  monopoly  and 
pays  its  employees  better  wages  than  other  employers  —  a  policy  dic 
tated  by  fear,  perhaps.  The  Roman  people  were  fed  and  entertained 
while  being  robbed  of  their  liberties.  This  monopoly  stands  for  a  great 
deal  already.  It  attempted  to  seize  political  power  and  usurp  the 
functions  of  the  State.  It  elected  Hoadly  Governor;  elected  Payne 
Senator,  when  the  great  mass  of  the  Democrats  hated  him,  and  nine 
out  of  every  ten  wanted  either  Thurman  or  Ward;  and  attempted  by 
outrageous  frauds  to  steal  the  senatorship  held  by  Sherman.  In  the 
words  of  Chief  Justice  Waite,  the  dollar  has  too  much  to  say  in  the 
affairs  of  the  Republic.  It  would  be  well  if  the  power  of  supervision 
exercised  by  the  Government  over  the  national  banks  were  extended  to 
other  things.  The  Interstate  Commerce  Law,  one  of  the  crudest  ever 
passed,  is  yet  one  of  the  most  beneficent  in  its  results.  The  Govern 
ment  should  say  to  dangerous  combinations,  "  Thus  far  and  no  farther ! " 
The  Dartmouth  College  decision  you  and  I  have  always  regarded  as  an 
anchor  that  fixed  things  permanently  in  this  country.  I  guess  it  was  a 
mistake,  and  that  it  gave  to  capital  a  power  that  should  rest  only  with 
the  people. 

Mr.  Hayes's  later  expressions  on  this  general  subject  are 
adequately  represented  by  the  following  citations  from  the 
diary :  — 

March  18,  1890.  —  Began  to  read  Dudley  Warner's  fine  new  novel 
"A  Little  Journey  in  the  World."  Sensible,  sound,  and  charming. 
Curiously  enough,  it  adds  another  to  the  list  of  "Nihilistic"  novels  — 
to  the  "Hazard  of  New  Fortunes,"  by  Howells,  "A  Yankee  at  King 
Arthur's  Court,"  by  Mark  Twain,  etc.,  etc.  Of  course  I  mean  no  dis 
paragement  by  the  word  "Nihilistic."  I  use  it  to  mean  all  opinions 
tending  to  show  the  wrong  and  evils  of  the  money-piling  tendency  of 
our  country,  which  is  changing  laws,  government,  and  morals,  and 
giving  all  power  to  the  rich  and  bringing  in  pauperism  and  its  attendant 
crimes  and  wretchedness  like  a  flood.  Lincoln  was  for  a  government  of 
the  people.  The  new  tendency  is  "a  government  of  the  rich,  by  the 
rich,  and  for  the  rich."  The  man  who  sees  this  and  is  opposed  to  it  I 
call  a  "Nihilist." 

November  27.  —  The  rich  and  the  so-called  fortunate  owe  a  duty  to  the 
poor  and  unfortunate.  The  first,  and  by  great  odds  the  chief,  duty,  is 
simple  justice.  They  owe  them  just  laws,  just  methods  of  business,  and 
a  fair  share  of  the  good  things  of  the  world,  such  as  education,  prop 
erty,  opportunity. 

December  10.  —  The  wealth  of  our  country  is  increasing  rapidly  and 
enormously.  The  question  of  its  distribution  presses  more  and  more 


INTEREST  IN  POLITICAL  QUESTIONS        385 

urgently.  The  great  question  in  our  day  and  generation  plainly  is  the 
property  question,  the  question  of  wealth.  Shall  it  be  held,  controlled, 
owned  by  a  few?  or  shall  it  be  wisely,  equitably,  that  is  widely,  distrib 
uted?  More  and  more,  wealth  gives  power,  estimation,  reputation. 
Shall  only  a  few  have  it?  Wealth,  education,  opportunity,  power  go 
together.  Shall  they  belong  to  a  few,  or  to  the  many?  They  will  rule 
always  in  a  free  country.  Who  shall  rule,  the  few  or  the  many  —  a 
plutocracy  or  a  democracy?  That  is  the  question. 

February  6,  1891.  —  The  burning  question  of  our  time  in  all  civilized 
countries  is  the  question  of  wealth  and  poverty,  of  capital  and  labor. 
Small  progress  has  yet  been  made  toward  its  solution.  Why?  Because 
ignorance  and  not  intelligence  has  taken  hold  of  it.  The  potent  ob 
jection,  the  stronghold  of  the  existing  injustice,  is  the  futility,  not  to 
say  folly,  of  the  remedies  which  ignorance  is  able  to  contrive.  Let  men, 
both  intelligent  and  true  to  the  interests  of  the  laborer,  take  up  the 
problem.  All  fair-minded  men  admit  that  labor  does  not  now  get  its 
fair  share  of  the  wealth  it  creates.  All  see  that  wealth  is  not  justly  dis 
tributed.  Let  education  send  into  our  society  a  body  of  laborers,  edu 
cated  and  intelligent,  able  to  deal  with  this  grave  question. 

It  is  easy  to  see,  therefore,  on  which  side  Mr.  Hayes's  sym 
pathies  and  influence  would  have  been  in  all  the  efforts  that 
have  engrossed  the  attention  of  the  people  and  enlisted  the 
activities  of  statesmen  in  recent  years,  to  control  or  eliminate 
monopoly  and  to  check  the  malign  operations  of  concentrated 
capital.  He  would  have  joined  heart  and  soul  in  any  sound 
movement  that  promised  to  destroy  privilege  and  to  restore 
conditions  of  free  and  equal  opportunity  —  to  make  the  Gov 
ernment  in  fact  as  well  as  name  a  government  of  and  for  the 
people. 


CHAPTER  XLII 

THE  FINAL  SCENES 

IN  all  the  life  at  Spiegel  Grove  and  in  his  benevolent  and 
public-spirited  activities,  Mr.  Hayes  had  the  constant  sym 
pathy  and  support  of  Mrs.  Hayes.  In  all  respects  there  was 
complete  accord  of  purpose  and  ambition,  complete  unison  of 
sentiment  in  service  for  the  public  good.  Mrs.  Hayes  was  al 
ways  busy  in  good  works  in  behalf  of  deserving  causes  or  indi 
viduals.  Indeed,  in  the  case  of  the  latter,  she  solved  all  doubts 
in  favor  of  their  deservingness.  In  the  larger  work  of  the  church, 
the  cause  of  home  missions  appealed  to  her  most.  For  many 
years  she  was  president  of  the  Home  Missionary  Society  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  faithfully  performing  the  duties 
thus  assumed,  and  presiding  at  the  annual  meetings  with 
dignity  and  grace.  Her  influence  and  example  did  much  to 
build  up  the  society.  In  whatever  city  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  society  was  held  she  was  the  recipient  of  constant  social 
attentions  from  old  friends  and  new. 

Whenever  it  was  possible  Mrs.  Hayes  accompanied  Mr. 
Hayes  on  the  journeys  that  his  various  activities  made  neces 
sary.  Her  last  journey  with  him  was  to  New  York  in  the  latter 
part  of  April,  1889,  when  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the 
inauguration  of  Washington  as  first  President  was  celebrated 
with  great  pomp  and  circumstance.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes 
shared  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cleveland  and  President  and  Mrs. 
Harrison  the  special  honors  of  the  occasion.  They  participated 
in  all  the  various  festivities,  and  at  the  banquet  which  marked 
their  culmination  Mr.  Hayes  responded  with  dignity  and  pro 
priety  to  the  toast,  "The  Presidency."  1  Wherever  Mrs.  Hayes 

1  The  more  significant  paragraphs  of  this  speech  were:  — 

"  The  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit.  Experience  has  shown  that  in  ordinary  times 

the  executive  power  is  of  no  greater  importance  —  perhaps  it  is  less  vital  —  than 

the  legislative  or  judicial  power.  Indeed,  so  happily  constituted  is  the  Presidency 

that  we  must  say  of  each  of  the  twenty-six  Presidential  elections  under  the 


THE  FINAL  SCENES  387 

went  she  was  as  much  a  centre  of  attraction  and  received  as 
great  homage  as  in  the  White  House  days.  This  New  York  visit 1 
was  her  last  appearance  in  the  life  of  the  great  world. 

Constitution,  that  either  candidate  might  have  been  elected,  and  the  good  citizen 
whose  partisan  feeling  was  strongest  and  whose  disappointment  was  bitterest 
could  repose  on  his  pillow  consoled  by  the  reflection,  'Although  my  party  is 
beaten,  my  country  is  safe.'  Is  it  not  true  that  our  executive  authority  is  so 
fashioned  that  in  ordinary  times  it  has  always  been  so  administered  that  the 
Republic  has  received  no  detriment?  When  gigantic  perils  and  disasters 
threaten,  when  extraordinary  character  and  powers  are  demanded,  these  great 
occasions  have  always  found  strong  hands  to  deal  with  them. 

"We  can  truly  say  of  the  Presidency  that  the  results  of  twenty-five  consecu 
tive  terms  have  vindicated  the  wisdom  of  the  fathers  who  established  it.  Of 
twenty-two  terms  there  are  two  things  which  may  be  said :  One  is  that  no  great 
remediless  harm  came  through  the  executive  power  to  the  people  it  was  intended 
to  serve.  The  other  is  that  if  no  eminent  historical  benefit,  lasting  through  the 
ages,  was  conferred  by  most  of  them,  it  was  perhaps  because  the  opportunity 
for  illustrious  achievement  did  not  occur.  But  during  them  all  the  nation,  by 
its  inherent  resources  and  energy,  pushed  rapidly  forward  in  a  career  of  un 
paralleled  prosperity  and  happiness,  unimpeded  by  executive  crimes  or  blunders. 

"Finally,  during  the  critical  and  anxious  years  of  the  other  three  Presidential 
terms  the  opportunity  came  to  America,  and  she  gave  to  the  world  two  Chief 
Magistrates  whose  character  and  deeds,  unrivalled  in  human  annals,  were 
crowned  by  a  devotion  to  country  and  mankind  which  enabled  them  to  furnish 
an  example  of  independence  of  personal  advantage  and  of  selfish  love  of  power, 
of  wealth,  and  of  title,  either  for  themselves  or  their  families,  absolutely  unknown 
before  in  the  history  of  the  rulers  of  the  world.  By  their  administration  of  the 
Presidency,  Washington  and  Lincoln  have  made  the  great  office,  and  the  Cen 
tury  whose  completion  we  celebrate,  illustrious  forever  and  forever!" 

1  During  this  visit,  Friday  evening,  May  3,  Mr.  Hayes  was  a  guest  at  a  nota 
ble  dinner  given  by  Colonel  Elliott  F.  Shepard.  Of  this,  in  his  diary  (May  4), 
he  gives  the  following  record :  — 

"Last  evening  attended  a  semi-political  symposium  at  Colonel  Shepard's. 
Southern  Governors  and  three  officers  of  the  New  York  Southern  Society,  with 
the  interesting  purpose  to  talk  up  the  Southern  situation  and  other  problems 
now  requiring  solution,  gave  interest  to  the  unusual  meeting. 

"There  were  present  our  host,  Colonel  Shepard;  on  his  right,  at  the  large 
square  table,  perhaps  sixteen  feet  square,  was  General  Gordon,  on  his  left  Gen 
eral  Buckner  (Governors  respectively  of  Georgia  and  Kentucky) ;  next  on  Gor 
don's  right,  myself,  on  Buckner's  left,  Mr.  Senator  Evarts.  This  was  the  head 
of  the  table.  On  the  right  side  [Mr.  William  P.]  St.  John,  John  C.  Calhoun 
(grandson  of  the  great  statesman),  Mr.  [Logan  C.]  Murray  and  Judge  [Noah] 
Davis.  On  the  square  opposite  Colonel  Shepard,  Chauncey  Depew  was  at  the 
centre;  General  Butterfield  [and  Alfred  R.  Conkling]  on  his  left,  General  Howard 
on  his  right.  On  the  fourth  side  were  Russell  Harrison,  Mr.  [John  F.]  Plummer, 
Mr.  [Arthur  E.]  Bateman  and  Mr.  [Magrane]  Cox. 

"It  was  a  notable  assembly;  the  dining-room  stately  and  elegant.  After 
dinner,  beginning  about  7  P.M.  and  ending  about  9.30  P.M.,  Colonel  Shepard 
rose  and  spoke  of  the  Southern  problem,  without  defining  it,  and  called  on  Gov 
ernor  Gordon.  He  spoke  in  a  friendly  spirit,  fluently,  and  at  times  eloquently. 


388  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

A  few  weeks  after  the  return  to  Fremont,  without  the  slightest 
forewarning,  fell  the  fatal  stroke  which  terminated  her  earthly 
course.  One  of  her  brothers  had  died  some  years  before  from 
apoplexy,  and  she  had  felt  premonitions  that  her  end  might 

The  importance  and  rights  of  the  States  were  dwelt  upon,  and  he  closed  with 
decided  devotion  to  the  perpetuity  and  supremacy  of  the  Union. 

"  Next  Governor  Buckner  spoke  of  the  gravity  of  the  negro  problem  —  too 
large  to  be  discussed  fully  in  an  after-dinner  speech.  But  alluded  to  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race  in  the  usual  way  of  our  Southern  friends,  and  then  touched  hand 
somely  the  question  of  increasing  wealth  on  the  eastern  border  of  the  Union. 
'The  centre  of  population  is  steadily  moving  west,  and  the  centre  of  wealth 
is  moving  east.'  Wealth  gets  in  fewer  hands,  etc.,  etc.  Then  an  anti-tariff 
speech,  as  the  main  cause  of  this.  Devotion  to  Union  and  the  general  Gov 
ernment. 

"  Mr.  Shepard  in  one  of  his  talks  of  introduction  alluded  to  the  inequality  of 
representation  in  the  Senate,  and  suggested  a  change  in  the  future  as  to  small 
States  coming  in  hereafter.  Next  he  introduced  me  with  high  compliments. 
When  he  closed,  and  the  toast  in  my  behalf  had  been  drunk,  as  in  all  cases,  by 
the  company  standing,  Governor  Gordon  rose,  and  said  he  wanted  to  say  a  few 
words  touching  my  Presidency.  He  said:  [Instead  of  Mr.  Hayes's  summary 
Governor  Gordon's  exact  words  follow.] 

" 'I  am  going  to  ask  the  privilege  of  adding  just  one  word.  It  was  my  fortune 
to  be  in  the  United  States  Senate  when  that  memorable  contest  between  the 
distinguished  New  Yorker  and  the  gentleman  whose  health  we  have  just  drunk 
was  being  conducted  before  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  I  was  a  very 
strong  partisan  of  his  opponent.  I  believed  him  to  be  fairly  elected.  I  did  not 
believe,  when  this  distinguished  gentleman  was  inaugurated,  that  he  could, 
under  the  circumstances  peculiar  to  that  case,  administer  this  Government  on 
the  broad,  magnanimous  plan  which  I  thought  became  the  President  of  this 
great  Republic.  I  saw  much  of  him,  differing  with  him  in  many  respects,  but 
I  soon  learned,  and  I  wish  to  declare,  that  his  heart  and  thought  were  bent  in 
one  direction  alone.  I  have  told  him  at  this  table  to-night,  and  I  feel  impelled  by 
a  sense  of  justice  to  him  to  say  it  more  publicly,  that  I  learned  to  appreciate  him. 
I  will  say  in  the  presence  of  you,  gentlemen,  that  in  all  the  line  of  distinguished 
men  who  have  filled  that  office,  no  man  ever  sat  in  that  chair  who,  in  the  judg 
ment  of  a  political  opponent  (as  I  was),  was  ever  actuated  by  a  more  single- 
minded  or  a  more  exalted  purpose  to  discharge  his  duty  to  every  citizen,  every 
section,  and  every  State,  than  was  Rutherford  B.  Hayes.' 

"It  was  well  received  by  the  company. 

"I  expressed  my  appreciation  of  his  kind  words  in  a  single  sentence.  Then  I 
spoke  of  the  few  things  we  must  accept  as  settled  —  negro  suffrage  and  the 
Senate.  [Here  too,  in  place  of  the  summary,  sentences  from  the  verbatim  report 
are  given.] 

"The  general  topics  that  we  have  been  listening  to  are  such  as  interest  us  all. 
I  have  supposed  that  as  to  a  number  of  questions  that  have  been  suggested 
they  are  substantially  settled  by  facts  and  by  the  Constitution.  Begin  to  meddle 
with  that  old  Constitution  under  which  we  have  lived  for  a  hundred  years,  dis 
turb  its  compromises  in  any  particular,  and  it  is  a  little  uncertain  upon  what 
changing,  uncertain,  and  stormy  sea  we  would  launch  our  Government.  We 
have  come  to  love  the  old  institutions.  The  work  of  Washington  is  dear  to  us. 


THE  FINAL  SCENES  389 

come  in  like  manner.  It  was  a  lovely  afternoon  in  June  (Friday, 
the  21st)  when  the  grove  was  never  more  beautiful.  Carpenters 
were  busy  finishing  the  latest  addition  to  the  house,  to  the 
completion  of  which  she  was  eagerly  looking  forward.  She  was 
seated  in  a  low  chair  in  front  of  the  southwest  window  of  her 
room  engaged  in  sewing,  looking  up  now  and  then  to  watch  the 
young  people  playing  tennis  on  the  lawn,  apparently  in  the  best 
of  health  and  spirits.  Suddenly  the  maid  who  was  with  her  no 
ticed  that  she  had  become  silent,  and  was  gazing  fixedly  at  her 
needle.  There  was  no  response  when  the  maid  addressed  her; 
and  no  words  ever  after  issued  from  her  lips.  Medical  aid  and 
nurses  were  summoned  at  once  and  tenderest  care  was  given 
her.  Mr.  Hayes,  who  had  been  absent  for  some  days  at  Columbus 
on  State  University  business,  came  two  hours  later,  accom 
panied  by  his  favorite  niece,  Mrs.  Mitchell,  hearing  the  dreadful 
news  first  as  he  stepped  from  the  train.  The  invalid  was  con 
scious  when  he  arrived,  as  the  pressure  of  her  hand  and  her  speak 
ing  eyes  signified;  and  she  so  remained,  at  least  at  intervals, 
until  Sunday  morning,  when  no  effort  could  rouse  her  more  and 

I  would  say,  in  regard  to  all  of  this,  let  well  enough  alone.  We  have  lived  under 
the  old  instrument  a  hundred  years;  let  us  go  on  with  as  little  change  as  may  be. 

"We  perhaps  made  a  mistake  in  the  arrangement  of  the  senatorships.  Let  it 
stand.  We  perhaps  made  a  mistake  in  conferring  too  early  upon  the  black  man 
the  right  of  suffrage;  that  may  be  possible.  But  is  n't  it  certain  that  existing 
facts  require  us  to  consider  it  fixed?  Is  n't  it  better  to  consider  what  we  can  do 
to  make  this  population  just  what  we  would  have  it,  exercising  with  us  equally 
the  great  right  of  suffrage?  During  the  last  eight  years,  since  leaving  entirely 
active  political  life,  my  thoughts  and  my  work  have  been  chiefly  in  connection 
with  questions  of  this  sort  —  how  best  to  educate  all  our  people  to  be  indeed  fit 
to  exercise  the  right  of  suffrage,  to  be  American  citizens.  Heart  has  as  much  to 
do  with  it,  perhaps,  as  brain,  after  all.  I  do  not  think  we  are  going  to  suffer  in 
the  future.  How  different  it  is  to-day  from  what  it  was  during  most  of  the  years 
of  our  lives  on  all  these  questions! 

"  Fifty  years  ago  Mr.  Adams  delivered  an  address,  which  was  full  of  painful 
suggestions,  on  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  inauguration  of  Washington. 
None  of  the  troubles  that  he  saw  are  now  with  us.  And  now  how  gratifying  the 
change!  There  is  no  very  wide  difference  between  us.  We  can  still  talk  about 
the  old  ideas,  but  when  it  comes  to  any  practical  legislation,  the  Constitution  is 
the  same  in  New  York  that  it  is  in  Georgia  and  Kentucky.  This  continental 
Republic,  with  its  inspiring  future,  has  one  destiny,  surely,  for  Kentucky  and 
Georgia,  for  Maine  and  California.  George  Washington  is  the  one  figure  of  a 
hundred  years  ago,  and  we  may  not  have  a  George  Washington  to  turn  our 
thoughts  to  now;  but  as  to  every  sentiment  growing  out  of  that  Constitution  we 
are  far  better  off  than  we  were  fifty  years  ago  or  a  hundred  years  ago.  We  are 
in  deed  and  in  truth  one  country,  with  one  Constitution  and  having  one  destiny." 


390  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

all  hope  forsook  the  anxious  watchers.  The  end  came  in  the 
hush  of  the  early  morning  of  Tuesday,  all  her  family  watching 
in  silent  anguish  as  her  gentle  spirit  took  its  flight.  There  were 
present  also  Mrs.  Mitchell,  Mrs.  Adda  Cook  Huntington,  and 
Miss  Lucy  Elliot  Keeler,  all  near  relatives,  and  Mrs.  A.  H. 
Miller,  an  intimate  friend  and  neighbor. 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  the  sudden  affliction  was  flashed  over 
the  wires,  messages  and  letters,  at  first  of  inquiry  and  hope  and 
later  of  sympathy  and  condolence,  began  to  come  by  hundreds 
to  Spiegel  Grove  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  Never  before  in 
the  history  of  America  had  the  death  of  any  woman  touched  so 
many  hearts  with  sorrow,  or  evoked  so  numerous  expressions 
of  sympathetic  praise,  or  filled  the  press  with  such  a  variety  of 
approving  comment,  of  elegiac  verse,  and  of  encomiastic  remi 
niscences  and  anecdotes.  All  pens  and  voices  were  at  one  in 
lauding  her  life  and  character,  her  interests  and  activities,  as 
those  of  the  highest  type  of  womanhood.1 

From  the  White  House,  from  Grand  Army  posts,  from  the 
Woman's  Relief  Corps  and  numerous  other  societies,  and  from 
friends  far  and  near,  came  flowers  in  endless  profusion  and  variety 
of  symbolic  arrangement.  It  was  estimated  at  the  time  that  ten 
thousand  people  gathered  in  the  grove  at  the  hour  of  the  funeral 
on  Friday.  Business  in  the  town  was  suspended,  even  the  post- 
office  being  closed  on  orders  from  Postmaster- General  Wana- 
maker.  The  services,  which  were  simple,  were  conducted  by 
Dr.  L.  D.  McCabe,  —  who  had  been  Mrs.  Hayes's  teacher  at 
Delaware  and  who  had  officiated  at  the  marriage  and  the  silver 
wedding,  —  assisted  by  President  Bashford  of  the  Ohio  Wes- 
leyan  University.  Mrs.  Hayes's  favorite  hymns  were  sung,  "My 
Jesus,  as  Thou  wilt,"  "When  peace  like  a  river  attendeth  my 
way,"  and  "God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again."  The  last  had 
always  been  sung  at  the  close  of  the  annual  reunion  of  the 
Twenty-third  Regiment,  with  Mrs.  Hayes  leading.  Dr.  McCabe 
spoke  very  briefly,  reviewing  the  striking  qualities  of  Christian 
character  which  Mrs.  Hayes  had  exemplified  throughout  her 
life.  "The  contact  with  the  world,"  he  said,  "did  not  spoil  the 

1  Not  long  after  her  death  philanthropists  established  and  endowed  at  Wash 
ington  in  her  memory  the  Lucy  Hayes  Deaconess  Training  School,  which  has 
accomplished  much  good. 


THE  FINAL  SCENES  391 

loving-kindness  of  her  nature.  She  was  always  finding  some 
human  heart  that  needed  binding  up.  Much  of  her  Divine 
Lord's  spirit  she  had  in  a  tender  regard  for  humanity,  which 
could  brook  no  unkind  word,  indeed,  could  brook  nothing  which 
could  wound  a  fellow  being,  however  lowly." 

Members  of  the  Twenty-third  Regiment,  which  had  always 
idolized  her,  a  score  or  more  in  number,  some  of  whom  had 
travelled  long  distances  to  be  present,  marched  on  each  side  of 
the  hearse  in  the  procession  to  Oakwood  Cemetery.  On  the  way 
the  band  played  softly  the  tunes  Mrs.  Hayes  had  always  liked 
to  hear  at  soldier  funerals  —  "America,*'  "Tenting  on  the  Old 
Camp  Ground,"  "Hail  Columbia,"  and  "Nearer,  my  God,  to 
Thee."  At  the  grave-side  the  burial  service  of  the  Methodist 
Church  was  read  by  Dr.  Bashford,  and  in  the  impressive  silence 
that  followed  the  solemn  "Dust  to  dust,  ashes  to  ashes,"  the 
four  sons  and  four  nephews  lowered  the  coffin  to  its  place.  To 
those  who  stood  close  about  the  tomb  the  world  seemed  very 
desolate  as  the  clods  fell  dully  on  the  coffin.  The  June  sunshine 
was  less  bright,  and  the  songs  of  the  birds  and  the  flowers  that 
breathed  their  fragrance  on  the  air  seemed  all  in  mockery  of 
their  woe. 

In  the  weeks  that  ensued  Mr.  Hayes  was  utterly  crushed  in 
spirit  as  he  mourned  his  irremediable  loss.  So  perfect  had  been 
the  union  of  lives,  so  close  and  necessary  the  companionship, 
that  now  all  the  uses  of  the  world  were  become  for  him  weary, 
flat,  stale,  and  unprofitable,  and  he  could  think  of  nothing  so 
desirable  as  to  lay  down  the  burden  of  this  world  and  be  at  one 
with  his  life  companion  once  more.  He  found  some  consolation 
in  the  letters  of  friends  reciting  numberless  kindly  acts  of  hers 
that  they  remembered,  and  he  took  a  melancholy  pleasure  in 
replying  to  these  letters,  and  in  himself  recording  characteristic 
incidents  in  her  career;  in  enumerating  the  qualities  and  virtues 
that  had  so  distinguished  and  adorned  her  life,  and  in  gathering 
and  arranging  everything  in  the  way  of  comment,  memorial, 
or  memento  that  bore  relation  to  her  life.  "She  wanted  to  treat 
all  of  God's  creatures  as  she  would  wish  to  be  treated  in  their 
place,"  he  wrote  of  her.  "I  think  of  her  as  the  Golden  Rule 
incarnate.  All  humanity  was  dear  to  her,  and  beyond  any  person 
I  ever  saw  she  loved  to  make  all  happy,  and  was  gifted  with  the 


392  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

faculty  of  doing  it.  She  loved  Christ  and  all  good  Christians. 
She  cared  very  little  for  the  formalities  of  religion;  believed  in 
the  orthodox  doctrines,  but  was  liberal  and  all-embracing  in 
her  charitable  views  as  Christ  himself.  She  had  friends  she 
valued  in  every  church  and  of  no  church.  One  writer  about  her 
fitly  says,  'She  had  no  obtrusive  goodness.'"  l 

Gradually,  however,  the  resources  of  his  philosophy  miti 
gated  his  absorption  in  his  great  sorrow,2  albeit  his  loneliness 
never  permitted  him  to  be  unconscious  of  the  desolation  that 
had  come  into  his  life; 3  — 

"And  slowly,  though  his  loss  he  felt  as  much, 
His  grief  was  softened  by  Time's  healing  touch." 

Little  by  little  he  resumed  his  interest  in  the  philanthropic  and 
educational  activities  to  which  he  had  dedicated  his  later  years 

1  "She  had  a  many-sided  nature;  was  fond  of  all  farming,  of  cattle,  of  her 
dairy,  of  her  poultry  yard,  of  her  flowers,  of  sailing,  fishing,  of  all  children's 
sports;  was  fond  of  looking  on  at  the  dancing  in  the  ballroom;  of  all  great  gather 
ings;  of  soldiers  marching  and  drilling;  was  selected  to  take  part  in  many  scenes 
of  all  sorts,  and  enjoyed  it.  Her  best  day  at  the  New  York  Centennial,  30  April, 
1889,  was  the  Naval  Day  in  Commodore  Bateman's  yacht."    (Diary,  July  2, 
1889.) 

"As  I  walked  away  from  church  an  old  M.E.  brother  —  a  teamster  by  pro 
fession  —  said,  'There  was  a  notable  thing  at  the  funeral,  I  noticed  and  many 
others.  The  Jerseys  —  her  Jerseys  —  all  came  up  as  near  to  the  funeral  proces 
sion  as  they  could  get  and  stood  in  a  row  looking  at  it,  standing  still  like  soldiers 
in  ranks  until  the  funeral  had  all  passed.'"  (Diary,  August  11,  1889.) 

2  There  was  comfort  for  him,  too,  in  the  presence  of  his  niece,  Mrs.  Mitchell, 
who  remained  at  Spiegel  Grove  for  several  weeks.    On  her  departure  Mrs. 
Herron  and  two  daughters  came  from  Cincinnati  for  a  month's  visit.  Soon  after 
their  return  he  wrote  to  Mrs.  Herron:  "It  was  very  lonely  after  you  and  the 
dear  young  folks  left.   But  your  visit  carried  me  forward  a  long  way.   The  sharp 
pangs  are  less  frequent,  and  the  periods  of  settled  gloom  are  shorter  and  rarer. 
I  find  myself  rapidly  getting  back  into  the  old  ways.  Nothing  could  have  done 
so  much  good  as  reading  and  talking  with  you.   It  is  annoying  —  I  am  almost 
ashamed  to  own  to  myself  how  the  skies  begin  to  brighten  above  me  once  more." 

3  At  the  Prison  Congress^at  Nashville  in  the  following  November,  Mr.  Hayes 
closed  his  opening  address  with  the  following  reference  to  Mrs.  Hayes:  "During 
almost  forty  years  it  has  been  my  fortunate  lot  to' live  under  the  same  roof  with 
one,  now  gone  to  the  world  beyond,  whose  gift,  and  whose  delight,  it  was  to 
shed  happiness  on  all  around  her.  Her  joy  was  so  radiant  because  her  life  was  the 
very  incarnation  of  those  few  humble  words  which  fell  naturally  from  her  lips: 
*I  know  I  am  not  good,  but  I  do  try  to  treat  all  others  as  I  would  wish  to  be 
treated  if  I  were  in  their  places.'  "Surely,  my  friends,  if  our  legislation  and  its 
execution  and  our  conduct  as  communities  and  as  individuals  can  be  penetrated 
and  controlled  by  the  spirit  of  the  Golden  Rule,  a  solution  will  be  found  for  every 
problem  which  now  disturbs,  or  threatens  to  disturb,,  our  American  society." 


THE  FINAL  SCENES  393 

and  he  continued  to  perform  all  the  duties  that  they  required  of 
him.  Relatives  and  friends  were  made  as  welcome  as  of  yore  to 
Spiegel  Grove.  Indeed,  he  lavished  affection  on  his  relatives, 
and  he  cherished  and  cultivated  his  friends  with  even  greater 
devotion  than  before.  He  called  frequently  on  the  neighbors 
he  liked  best  and  always  had  some  of  them  with  him  when  he 
went  to  drive.  His  daughter  became  his  constant  companion 
in  the  journeys  that  his  public  services  made  necessary;  and  she 
accompanied  him  on  a  visit  to  Bermuda,  when  constant  atten 
tions  were  bestowed  upon  him  by  the  colonial  authorities  and 
the  British  officers  stationed  there. 

He  was  never  more  occupied  with  the  various  interests  and 
duties  that  claimed  his  attention  than  during  the  last  few 
months  of  his  life.  He  attended  the  Grand  Army  Encampment 
at  Washington  in  September,  1892,  marched  in  the  procession 
with  the  old  soldiers,1  and  took  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  re 
unions  and  camp-fires.2  Wherever  he  appeared  he  was  greeted 
with  tumultuous  cheers.  Then  followed  in  rapid  succession  a 
visit  to  New  York  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  Peabody  and 
Slater  trustees,  and  to  be  an  honored  spectator  of  the  great 

1  "Tuesday.  The  day  of  the  great  parade.  I  had  tramped  afoot  with  my  com 
rades  in  post  duties  at  home,  at  state  encampments,  and  at  the  national  encamp 
ment  in  Detroit.  It  struck  me  as  the  thing  to  do  to  follow  these  precedents  at 
Washington.  The  people  looking  on  and  the  comrades  approved  by  applause 
in  a  very  gratifying  way.  Nothing  of  the  sort  could  have  been  better  than  the 
demonstration  on  Fifteenth  Street,  —  Treasury  on  one  side,  Riggs  House  on  the 
other,  —  and  as  I  approached  the  stand,  Senator  Hawley  led  in  the  cheering. 
It  was  enough  to  stir  the  blood  of  the  coldest  and  oldest!  Evening,  dined  at  Army 
and  Navy  Club,  meeting  at  table  General  Schofield,  Vice-President  Morton, 
Senators  Manderson   [and]  Hawley,  and  other  notabilities  of  the  army  and 
navy  gathered  to  meet  me.  After  dinner  a  general  hand-shaking."   (Diary,  Sep 
tember  20,  1892.) 

2  "Tuesday  evening  was  the  meeting  of  the  Army  of  West  Virginia  in  the 
Grant  tent.  .  .  .  General  Rosecrans,  Governor  Pierrepont,  General  Powell,  and 
others  spoke,  and  I  presided.  The  event  of  the  evening  was  the  going-out  of 
the  electric  lights,  leaving  us  in  total  darkness!   But  the  result  was  typical  of 
the  good  order  which  prevailed  throughout  the  whole  encampment.    The  strange 
thing  occurred  —  perfect  order,  and  we  went  on  with  the  speeches  and  busi 
ness  of  the  society,  elected  officers,  passed  resolutions,  and  quietly  adjourned 
the  great  audience,  having  no  noise  or  confusion,  except  the  usual  applause 
when  good  things  were  said.    When  General  Rosecrans  was  speaking,  some 
one  said,  'We  would  like  [to]  see  his  face!'   I  lighted  a  match  and  held  it  near 
his  face!  This  was  greeted  with  great  applause,  or  rather  the  old  veteran  was 
heartily  applauded."   (Diary,  September  21,  1892.) 


394  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

naval  and  military  parades  and  to  share  in  the  festivities  that 
accompanied  them;  participation  in  the  Indian  Conference  at 
Lake  Mohonk;  and  a  journey  to  Chicago  to  take  part  in  the 
dedication  of  the  Columbian  Fair  buildings.  On  these  occasions 
he  was  the  recipient  of  every  courtesy  possible  from  those  in 
authority,  and  his  appearance  in  public  was  in  each  instance  a 
signal  for  spontaneous  and  prolonged  cheering.  Never,  in  fact, 
since  the  White  House  days,  had  he  been  greeted  with  greater 
manifestations  of  popular  esteem.  And  all  this  gave  him  a  feel 
ing  of  deep  satisfaction  and  touched  his  heart  with  gratitude. 

Hardly  had  he  returned  to  Spiegel  Grove  when  word  came 
of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Harrison.  Thereupon,  as  already  noted, 
he  journeyed  to  Indianapolis  to  attend  the  obsequies,  and  ac 
companied  President  Harrison  on  his  way  back  to  Washington 
as  far  as  Columbus.  Early  in  December  occurred  the  annual 
Prison  Congress,  that  year  at  Baltimore.  Mr.  Hayes  presided 
as  usual,  making  the  opening  speech.  In  this  he  pleaded  espe 
cially  for  wise  restriction  of  immigration  so  as  to  prevent  the 
influx  of  criminals  and  defectives,  virtually  deported  by  Euro 
pean  countries  at  that  time  to  our  shores;  and  he  gave  this  ad 
mirable  definition  of  the  purpose  and  aims  of  the  society,  to 
which  he  had  devoted  so  many  years,  as  his  last  contribution 
to  the  cause :  — 

The  true  prison  reformer  labors  to  introduce  the  spirit  of  the  Golden 
Rule  into  the  whole  territory  of  duty  embraced  in  the  great  subject 
of  criminal  jurisprudence.  The  prime  object  is  the  protection  of  society 
and  individuals  by  the  prevention  of  crime.  The  means  by  which  we 
seek  to  attain  this  end  are:  — 

1.  The  speedy  and  certain  arrest,  conviction,  and  imprisonment  of 
the  guilty. 

2.  The  reformation  of  convicts  by  the  valid  reclaiming  forces:  re 
ligion,  education,  and  productive  labor. 

3.  The  permanent  incarceration  of  all  prisoners  not  reformed. 

4.  The  most  effectual  means  to  prevent  crime  is  an  unceasing,  con 
scientious,  and  wise  care  in  the  training  of  the  young. 

In  all  of  these  paths  the  progress  at  any  given  period  seems  difficult 
and  slow,  but  in  a  generation  it  is  unmistakable  and  encouraging. 

This  visit  to  Baltimore  was  Mr.  Hayes's  last  journey  outside 
the  State.  But  late  in  the  month  he  was  at  Cleveland  to  preside 
at  a  banquet  of  Kenyon  College  alumni  and  at  Columbus  to 


*te 


RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES,  1892 
At  the  age  of  seventy  ;  the  last  photograph 


THE  FINAL  SCENES  395 

address  the  Ohio  College  Association  on  his  favorite  theme,  the 
importance  of  manual  training  in  our  educational  system.  The 
holiday  season  was  passed  by  him  most  pleasantly  at  home,  with 
all  the  members  of  his  family  present  to  share  in  the  customary 
celebration.  And  now,  quite  unknown  to  him,  —  when  his  eye 
remained  undimmed  and  all  his  powers  of  mind  and  body  were 
apparently  unimpaired,  while  he  was  busy  with  his  self-imposed 
duties  and  was  planning  soon  to  make  another  journey  through 
the  South  in  the  interest  of  the  Peabody  and  Slater  benevo 
lences,  —  his  days  were  drawing  rapidly  to  their  close.  He  had, 
to  be  sure,  long  had  a  conviction  or  feeling  that  he  should  not 
long  survive  the  scriptural  threescore  years  and  ten,  if  he  lived 
to  that  age.  As  his  seventieth  birthday  drew  near,  he  had 
written  (September  16,  1892) :  — 

The  best  idea  I  recall,  the  result  of  my  almost  seventy  years  of  ex 
perience,  is  the  capacity  of  men  and  women  for  self-improvement. 
Shakespeare  says,  "By  use  (habit)  we  can  almost  change  the  stamp  of 
nature."  Beginning  early  the  young  can  train  themselves  to  good  dis 
positions,  to  good  minds,  to  steady  nerves,  to  courage,  to  self-control, 
and  to  all  the  virtues  and  graces  of  mind  and  body.  How  vast,  how 
important! 

I  have  a  desire,  not  intense  but  growing,  to  live  to  seventy.  I  now  feel 
as  if  I  could  leave  this  sphere  willingly  after  that  day  —  4th  October 
next,  two  weeks  and  four  days.1 

1  On  his  birthday  he  wrote:  — 

"  My  birthday.  Seventy  years  old  to-day.  Now  my  life  is  as  happy  as  that  of 
people  of  the  common  standard  —  more  so,  I  suspect,  far  more  so.  I  have  tried 
to  phrase  my  best  lesson  from  the  observation  and  experience  of  the  seventy 
years.  The  idea  is  the  chief  distinction  between  man  and  the  lower  animals, 
namely,  his  improvability  by  self-culture.  A  man  can  by  self-culture,  with  care 
and  perseverance,  'almost  change  the  stamp  of  nature.'  He  can  add  to  his  nat 
ural  faculties  and  powers;  he  can  supply  defects,  eradicate  evil  tendencies,  and 
strengthen  and  quicken  all  good  tendencies  and  powers.  This  is  the  vital  fact 
in  our  nature.  Washington,  naturally  with  a  violent  temper,  by  self-culture 
acquired  a  wonderful  control  over  this  tendency. 

"My  tendency  to  nervousness  in  my  younger  days  .  .  .  gave  some  serious 
uneasiness.  I  made  up  my  mind  to  overcome  it,  to  maintain  steady  nerves  if 
possible  under  the  most  trying  circumstances.  In  the  cross-examination  of  wit 
nesses  before  a  crowded  court-house,  as  in  the  Nancy  Farrer  case  in  1850  or 
1851,  I  soon  found  I  could  control  myself  even  in  the  worst  of  testing  cases. 
Finally,  in  battle,  I  was  not  in  the  least  disturbed  by  shells  bursting  near  me. 
Recently  the  dentist,  plugging  a  large  cavity  in  a  tooth,  said,  'It  will  not  give 
you  much  pain,  but  it  will  disturb  your  nerves.'  I  replied,  'I  have  no  nerves.' 
He  said, '  I  think  I  shall  find  some  nerves.'  After  he  had  worked  away,  pounding, 


396  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

On  the  Sunday  before  the  fatal  illness  overtook  him  he  wrote 
in  his  diary  (January  8,  1893) :  — 

In  the  afternoon  I  drove  with  Rutherford  around  the  grave  of  Lucy 
in  a  sleigh.  My  feeling  was  one  of  longing  to  be  quietly  resting  in  a 
grave  by  her  side.1 

The  next  morning  early  he  set  out  for  Columbus  to  attend  a 
meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  State  University.2  He 
was  engaged  in  university  interests  and  in  visits  to  his  friends 
and  relatives  until  Thursday  afternoon  when  he  took  the  train 
for  Cleveland.  As  he  often  did,  he  found  a  seat  in  the  smoking- 
car,  because  he  liked  to  join  in  the  easy  acquaintanceship  and 
conversation  which  that  car  seems  to  engender.  One  of  his 
chance  travelling  companions  wrote  an  account  of  the  afternoon 
while  its  incidents  were  still  vivid  in  his  mind.  From  this  it 
appears  that  Mr.  Hayes  was  in  a  most  genial  and  happy  mood. 
He  entertained  the  group  throughout  the  trip  with  incidents 
of  his  experience  in  public  life;  told  how,  in  order  to  save  the 
Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home,  a  German  member  of  the  Ohio  Senate 

grinding,  and  filing  for  some  time,  I  fell  into  a  sweet  sleep  in  his  hands,  his  work 
ing  having  rather  a  soothing  effect! 

"As  I  was  going  to  the  first  opening  ceremony  of  the  great  Centennial  Ex 
position,  from  Buffalo  direct  by  a  new  railroad  to  Philadelphia,  the  train  was 
met  at  all  stations  with  a  welcome  to  the  notabilities  and  to  the  new  railroad, 
bands,  crowds,  flags,  and  cannon  firing.  At  one  place  the  cannon  a  few  feet  from 
the  track  was  to  be  fired  just  after  the  last  car  had  passed.  The  train  stopped 
more  suddenly  than  was  anticipated  and  the  shot  was  fired  direct  into  the  win 
dow  where  I  sat.  The  glass  cut  my  forehead  so  it  bled  freely;  the  powder  and 
wet  wads  plastered  my  face  and  eyes,  etc. ;  but  I  did  not  stir.  A  fellow  passenger 
a  few  seats  away,  as  the  smoke  cleared  off,  looking  at  me  saw  I  had  not  stirred 
and  thought  I  was  killed.  He  came  to  me.  I  told  him  in  the  most  matter-of- 
fact  way  that  I  was  sure  I  was  not  hurt  seriously,  although  I  could  not  see  and 
was  covered  with  blood!" 

1  To  an  old  friend,  Mrs.  Eliza  G.  Davis,  of  Cincinnati,  he  had  written  Decem 
ber  31 :  "  Yesterday  was  the  wedding  day  —  forty  years  ago!  How  many  of  the 
kind  friends  of  that  glad  day  are  gone  to  the  unseen!   Our  turn  to  leave  must 
soon  come  to  us.   You  are  ready  and  nothing  to  lose  —  nothing  to  fear.   I  have 
the  same  feeling  as  to  myself.   'God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again.' " 

2  "How  long  is  this  going  to  last?"  he  said  to  his  son  Rutherford,  on  the  way 
to  the  station  that  blustery  morning.  "These  trips  are  wearisome,  although  the 
duty  is  very  pleasant,  and  the  objects  those  in  which  I  am  greatly  interested. 
From  some  of  them  I  shall  be  brought  home  in  a  pine  box,  but  that  is  as  good  a 
way  as  any.  We  have  all  got  to  die  sometime,  and  it  matters  little  how  or  where 
except  as  it  affects  the  feelings  of  family  and  friends.  The  main  thing  is  that  the 
illness  be  short  and  painless." 


THE  FINAL  SCENES  397 

had  spoken  in  English,  German,  and  French  all  night,  until  an 
absent  member  could  be  rushed  back  by  special  train  to  Colum 
bus;  described  his  interview  with  the  astute  De  Lesseps,  when 
the  latter  was  seeking  to  enlist  American  support  for  his  Panama 
enterprise,  and  how  that  irrepressible  gentleman  had  perverted 
for  publication  his  unequivocal  words  of  discouragement  into 
expressions  of  sympathy  and  approval;  related  many  anecdotes 
of  the  members  of  his  Cabinet  and  other  public  men;  and  spoke 
with  amused  unconcern  of  the  silly  chatter  of  witless  or  malig 
nant  newspaper  writers  about  his  poultry  yard.  Mr.  Hayes 
himself  wrote  that  his  fellow  travellers  were  "an  agreeable 
party."  But  the  car  was  not  adequately  heated  and  Mr.  Hayes 
contracted  a  cold  which  doubtless  hastened  his  end. 

He  was  a  guest  until  Saturday  of  Mrs.  L.  C.  Austin,  a  rela 
tive  and  intimate  friend,  at  whose  home  his  son  Webb  lived  and 
whom  he  had  frequently  visited.  On  Friday  he  was  busy  with 
the  affairs  of  Western  Reserve  University  and  visited  the  Uni 
versity  School  in  which  he  had  been  greatly  interested.  Saturday 
afternoon  at  the  Cleveland  station,  as  he  was  about  to  depart 
for  Fremont,  he  was  seized  with  an  attack  of  angina  pectoris. 
His  son  Webb  obtained  brandy  for  him  and  this  somewhat  re 
lieved  the  intense  pain,  which  he  described  as  like  that  he  had 
suffered  after  his  severe  wound  at  South  Mountain.  Webb 
urged  him  to  return  to  Mrs.  Austin's,  but  he  said  no;  he  longed 
to  be  at  home.  "I  would  rather  die  at  Spiegel  Grove,"  he  de 
clared,  "than  to  live  anywhere  else."  He  was  made  as  comfort 
able  as  possible  in  the  drawing-room  of  the  Pullman  car,  and 
reached  Fremont  at  seven,  still  in  great  pain,  but  no  worse  for 
the  journey.  Dr.  Hilbish,  the  family  physician,  who  had  been 
forewarned  by  telegraph,  met  the  train  and  accompanied  the 
sufferer  to  Spiegel  Grove.  It  was  with  a  sigh  of  satisfaction  that 
he  presently  found  himself  in  his  own  room  and  bed  —  which 
he  was  never  to  leave  alive.  The  physician  did  not  at  first 
apprehend  a  fatal  termination  of  the  malady.  He  did  all  that 
medical  science  could  suggest,  remaining  almost  constantly  with 
his  distinguished  patient. 

But  the  weary  heart  did  not  regain  its  vigor.  Mr.  Hayes  him 
self  had  little  doubt  that  his  hour  was  come  and  he  was  pre 
pared  to  "greet  the  unseen  with  a  cheer."  During  the  three 


398  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

days  that  he  lingered  he  talked  freely  and  cheerfully  with  mem 
bers  of  the  family,  referring  more  than  once  to  his  last  visit  to 
his  wife's  grave,  when  he  had  a  feeling  of  longing  to  be  lying  at 
her  side.  "And  yet,"  he  would  add,  "I  am  not  unhappy.  My 
life  is  an  exceptionally  happy  one."  But,  after  all,  he  felt  that 
his  life-work  was  done;  that  he  had  fought  a  good  fight;  that  he 
had  lived  to  see  detraction  and  misrepresentation  give  place  to 
recognition  and  appreciation;  and  he  was  quite  ready  to  obey 
the  final  summons  to  put  out  upon  the  unknown  sea.  He  de 
sired  "no  sadness  of  farewell  when  he  embarked."  His  last 
recorded  words  were  said  to  Dr.  Hilbish:  "I  know  that  I  am 
going  where  Lucy  is."  While  his  suffering  was  greatly  relieved 
by  anodynes,  he  chafed  at  being  confined  to  his  bed  —  the  first 
experience  of  the  kind  since  he  was  wounded  at  South  Moun 
tain,  more  than  thirty  years  before.  Tuesday  there  seemed  to 
be  a  change  for  the  better  and  hope  was  quickened;  but  after 
ten  that  night  conditions  became  rapidly  worse,  and  near  eleven 
he  fell  away  painlessly  into  the  endless  sleep,  in  the  arms  of  his 
son  Webb,  his  daughter  and  Rutherford  standing  at  the  bed 
side.1  And  so  "the  faithful  heart  that  had  beaten  high  in  battle 
grew  faint  and  failed,  and  then  the  white  stars  watched  until 
morning."  2 

So  little  alarming  had  been  the  press  reports  that  the  news  of 
the  sudden  death  came  to  the  country  as  a  complete  surprise. 
Messages  of  condolence  at  once  began  to  arrive  from  the  great 
and  good  in  all  parts  of  the  land,  from  unnumbered  relatives 
and  friends,  from  those  who  had  been  associates  in  military  serv 
ice,  in  public  affairs,  in  philanthropic  and  educational  enter 
prises,  and  from  men  in  all  walks  of  life  who  had  been  supporters 
and  admirers  of  the  man  whose  course  was  finished.  The  house 
was  filled  with  flowers,  many  of  them  arranged  in  elaborate 
designs,  from  the  White  House,  from  the  Legislature  of  Ohio, 
from  Loyal  Legion  commanderies,  from  Grand  Army  posts, 
and  from  numerous  other  organizations,  and  countless  individ 
uals.  The  funeral  took  place  Friday  afternoon.  In  spite  of  the 

1  The  oldest  son,  Birchard,  and  his  wife,  had  spent  the  day  at  Spiegel  Grove, 
but  had  returned  to  Toledo  for  the  night,  having  no  apprehension  that  the  end 
was  near.  The  youngest  son,  Scott,  had  not  yet  arrived  from  Cincinnati. 

2  Murat  Halstead  in  New  York  Independent. 


THE  FINAL  SCENES  399 

snow  and  the  severe  weather,  hosts  of  people  from  near  and  far 
journeyed  to  Fremont  to  look  on  the  face  of  their  friend  once 
more  and  to  share  in  the  rites  of  sepulture.  Mr.  Cleveland,  soon 
to  be  inaugurated  as  President  a  second  time,  between  whom 
and  Mr.  Hayes  the  kindliest  relations  of  sympathy  and  esteem 
had  existed,  came  from  Lakewood.1  Threatened  indisposition 
deterred  President  Harrison  from  making  the  long  journey  at 
such  an  inclement  season;  but  four  members  of  his  Cabinet, 
Messrs.  Foster,  Noble,  Rusk,  and  Wanamaker,  represented  the 
National  Administration,  along  with  army  and  naval  officers. 
Delegations  were  present  from  the  two  houses  of  Congress;  and 
the  Legislature  of  Ohio  came  in  a  body,  headed  by  Governor 
McKinley,  with  his  staff,  and  the  state  officers.  Delegates  from 
Loyal  Legion  commanderies  and  from  other  societies,  and  many 
other  men  of  distinction  were  present  from  various  parts  of  the 
land.  General  Henry  C.  Corbin,  a  close  personal  friend,  had 
charge  of  all  arrangements  for  the  day.  All  the  morning,  the 
body  lay  in  the  great  dining-room,  amid  the  mass  of  flowers, 
surrounded  by  a  guard  of  state  militiamen,  and  thousands  of 
townspeople  and  visitors  filed  past  the  coffin  to  gaze  upon  the 
features  that  death  had  left  unruffled  and  majestic.  As  two 
o'clock  approached,  the  coffin  was  borne  to  the  front  hall  and 
over  it  were  hung  the  American  flag  and  the  banners  of  the 
Loyal  Legion  of  Ohio  and  of  Massachusetts.  There  was  no  other 
decoration  in  hall  or  parlors.  By  this  time  the  house  was  filled 
with  the  immediate  family  and  friends  and  the  distinguished 
visitors,  and  the  outer  doors  were  closed.  Thousands  of  people 
stood  in  the  snow  about  the  house  while  the  brief  funeral  service 
was  celebrated.  This  consisted  of  the  reading  of  the  Twenty- 

1  Mr.  Cleveland  incurred  criticism  from  a  few  bitterly  partisan  papers  of  his 
own  party,  which  could  never  forgive  Mr.  Hayes  for  being  President.  But  sensi 
ble  and  judicious  people  of  all  parties  applauded  him  for  his  seemly  and  gracious 
act;  quite  agreeing  with  the  sentiments  expressed  at  the  time  by  the  New  York 
Tribune  :  "He  has  done  with  modesty  and  dignity,  and  at  considerable  sacrifice 
of  personal  ease  and  comfort,  a  very  gracious  and  becoming  act,  for  which  all 
American  citizens  who  have  pride  in  their  country,  its  history,  and  its  rulers, 
and  all  men  everywhere  who  believe  in  that  common  humanity  which  at  the 
edge  of  the  grave  forgets  all  unkindness,  will  hold  him  in  high  honor.  It  may  be 
but  a  little  thing,  but  it  is  one  of  those  little  things  that  go  a  long  way  toward 
smoothing  out  the  differences  that  make  so  many  misunderstandings  in  the 
world." 


400  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

third  Psalm,  by  the  pastor  of  the  local  Methodist  Church,  the 
Reverend  J.  L.  Albritton;  the  singing  of  the  hymn,  "It  is  well 
with  my  soul,"  by  a  Cleveland  choir,  assisted  by  Mrs.  Fred  Dorr, 
of  Fremont,  a  warm  personal  friend;  an  impressive  prayer  by 
President  Bashford,  of  Ohio  Wesley  an  University;  the  favorite 
hymn,  "God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again";  and  the  reciting 
by  the  entire  company  of  the  Lord's  Prayer.  Of  this  simple  serv 
ice  the  contemporary  press  account  declares:  — 

One  might  live  a  lifetime  and  never  witness  such  a  scene.  Assembled 
counsellors  and  rulers  of  the  nation  with  one  accord  bowed  their  heads 
and  joined  in  the  simple  prayer  of  childhood  and  old  age  in  strong  and 
reverent  tones.  President-elect  Cleveland  and  Governor  McKinley, 
sitting  side  by  side,  humbly  and  devoutly  lifted  their  voices  with  the 
rest.  It  was  more  solemn  and  impressive  than  any  sermon,  and  more 
than  one  pair  of  eyes  were  dim  when  the  amen  was  said. 

The  procession  to  Oakwood  was  headed  by  Troop  A  of  Cleve 
land  (of  which  Webb  Hayes  was  a  member),  the  Toledo  Battery, 
and  the  Sixteenth  Regiment  of  the  Ohio  National  Guard.  Next 
to  these  marched  members  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 
and  of  the  Sons  of  Veterans.  The  honorary  pallbearers  were 
all  men  that  had  been  close  friends  of  Mr.  Hayes:  Secretary 
Charles  Foster,  representing  the  President;  Governor  Mc 
Kinley;  Dr.  J.  L.  M.  Curry,  agent  of  the  Peabody  and  Slater 
funds;  Major  E.  C.  Dawes,  representing  the  Loyal  Legion  of 
Ohio;  General  Wager  Swayne,  representing  the  Loyal  Legion 
of  New  York;  General  Manning  F.  Force;  Colonel  William  E. 
Haynes,  of  Fremont,  member  of  Congress;  and  William  Henry 
Smith,  the  most  intimate  personal  and  political  friend.  The 
actual  bearers  were  members  of  his  old  regiment,  the  famous 
Twenty-third,  who  carried  the  corse  of  their  old  commander 
with  affectionate  care.  The  relatives  and  funeral  guests  fol 
lowed  in  carriages  in  appropriate  order;  and  thousands  of  peo 
ple  walked  the  mile  to  Oakwood  in  the  frosty  sunlight  through 
the  deep  snow.  At  the  grave-side  the  service  was  "very  brief 
and  simple,"  the  press  account  records,  "but  the  grouping  of 
figures  rendered  it  indescribably  solemn  and  impressive.  Around 
the  grave  were  the  cavalry  troop  in  yellow  and  blue,  with  the 
red-caped  artillerymen  in  the  background,  and  on  the  opposite 
side  the  regiment  of  infantry,  while  all  about  and  everywhere 


THE  FINAL  SCENES  401 

were  people  anxious  to  witness  the  last  sad  duty  to  the  dead. 
The  picturesque  uniforms  of  the  cavalry  and  artillery,  the  soft 
blue  of  the  infantry,  the  more  sombre  dress  of  civilians,  and  the 
brighter  costumes  of  the  ladies,  with  the  bare  trees  above  and 
the  white  robe  of  snow  below,  combined  to  frame  a  picture  in 
the  failing  light  of  the  afternoon  that  will  last  as  long  as  life  in 
the  minds  of  all  who  saw  it."  When  the  coffin  had  been  lowered 
among  the  boughs  of  evergreen  that  hid  the  frozen  earth,  the 
Sons  of  Veterans  fired  a  parting  salute,  and  the  bugles  sounded 
taps.1  And  so,  as  the  wintry  sunlight  faded  in  the  west,  all  that 
was  mortal  of  the  man  that  had  nobly  filled  so  large  a  space  in 
the  better  history  of  his  time  and  country,  lay  at  rest  beside  the 
grave  of  his  soul  companion,  whom,  through  years  of  sorrow, 
bravely  borne,  he  had  longed  to  join  in  that  fuller  life,  to  which, 
as  he  confidently  trusted,  death  was  the  portal. 

It  is  quite  impossible  in  limited  space  to  convey  an  adequate 
impression  of  the  public  honors  and  manifestations  of  respect 
that  were  paid  at  the  time  to  the  life  and  character  and  varied 
public  services  of  Mr.  Hayes.  President  Harrison  immediately 
announced  the  death  to  the  country  in  an  executive  order,  di 
recting  that  the  White  House  and  other  government  buildings 
be  draped  in  mourning  and  the  flags  thereon  placed  at  half-mast 
for  thirty  days;  that  on  the  day  of  the  funeral  all  public  busi 
ness  of  the  departments  be  suspended,  and  that  military  and 
naval  honors  be  ordered  on  that  day.  In  this  announcement 
he  expressed  this  judgment  of  Mr.  Hayes :  — 

He  was  a  patriotic  citizen,  a  lover  of  the  flag  and  of  our  free  institu 
tions,  an  industrious  and  conscientious  civil  officer,  a  soldier  of  daunt 
less  courage,  a  loyal  comrade  and  friend,  a  sympathetic  and  helpful 
neighbor,  and  the  honored  head  of  a  happy  Christian  home.  He  has 

1  TAPS 

The  strenuous  day  is  past, 
The  march,  the  fight. 
The  bugle  sounds  at  last: 
"Lights  out.   Good-night." 

Sleep  till  the  shadows  take 

Their  endless  flight; 
Until  the  morning  break, 

Good-night;  Good-night! 

CH.  HEMENWAY  ADAMS. 


402  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

steadily  grown  in  the  public  esteem,  and  the  impartial  historian  will 
not  fail  to  recognize  the  conscientiousness,  the  manliness,  and  the  cour 
age  that  so  strongly  characterized  his  whole  public  career. 

The  Supreme  Court  and  both  houses  of  Congress  adjourned 
the  day  after  the  death  in  token  of  respect,  Democratic  members 
vying  with  Republicans  in  expressions  of  sorrow  and  apprecia 
tion.  The  Legislatures  of  many  States  adopted  resolutions  of 
respect  and  adjourned  their  sessions.  All  the  various  societies 
and  institutions  with  which  Mr.  Hayes  was  connected  held 
memorial  meetings,  at  which  glowing  eulogies  were  pronounced 
by  men  of  high  distinction;  and  countless  other  gatherings  of  a 
similar  character  were  chronicled  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 
The  minutes  adopted  by  the  Peabody  and  Slater  trustees,  and 
the  tributes  to  his  character  promulgated  by  every  commandery 
of  the  Loyal  Legion,  were  eloquent  expressions  of  the  honor  and 
esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  men  who  had  been  most  closely 
associated  with  him.  The  newspaper  and  periodical  press  of  the 
country  gave  large  space  to  reviews  of  his  career  and  to  dis 
criminating  appraisal  of  his  character  and  achievements.  Only 
a  very  few  journals,  blinded  by  partisan  passion,  or  cankered 
by  the  personal  disappointment  or  malignity  of  their  editors, 
sought  to  disparage  his  high  qualities,  or  to  question  the  integ 
rity  of  his  motives,  or  to  belittle  the  sum  and  magnitude  of  his 
public  accomplishments.  These  discordant  notes  were  neither 
numerous  nor  serious  enough  to  mar  the  general  chorus  of  just 
recognition  and  appreciation. 

From  the  innumerable  utterances  of  the  time,  a  few  para 
graphs  may  be  given,  as  typical  of  their  prevailing  character. 
The  Reverend  Washington  Gladden,  who  knew  Mr.  Hayes  well, 
delivered  a  memorial  discourse  at  his  church  in  Columbus  on  the 
Sunday  next  following  the  funeral,  in  which  he  said :  — 

I  have  named  him  the  "Great  Commoner."  This  title  was  given 
first  to  William  Pitt,  in  the  days  before  he  was  the  Earl  of  Chatham;  it 
was  the  popular  tribute  to  a  lofty  spirit  who  was  "the  first  to  discern," 
as  one  of  his  biographers  phrases  it,"  that  public  opinion,  though  gen 
erally  slow  to  form  and  slow  to  act,  is  in  the  end  the  paramount  power 
in  the  State,  and  the  first  to  use  it,  not  in  an  emergency  merely,  but 
throughout  a  long  political  career."  .  .  .  Our  own  Great  Commoner 
has  won  the  title  by  the  same  qualities.  He,  too,  was  essentially  and 


THE  FINAL  SCENES  403 

preeminently  a  man  of  the  people.  From  the  common  people  he  rose, 
and  he  never  rose  above  them.  That  persistent  determination  of  his  to 
walk  in  the  ranks  in  the  Grand  Army  parades  has  been  censured  by  some 
as  affectation.  But  to  President  Hayes  it  was  the  simple  expression  of 
a  fact  which  he  would  neither  deny  nor  ignore.  He  was  a  plain  citizen, 
nothing  more;  he  would  not  masquerade  as  anything  else.  While  he 
held  the  Chief  Magistracy  of  the  nation,  he  magnified  the  office;  when 
he  laid  it  down,  he  returned  to  his  place.  He  knew  the  dignity  of  office; 
he  knew  also  the  dignity  of  private  citizenship.  .  .  . 

To  multitudes  in  other  States  his  great  services  have  endeared  him; 
but  Ohio  has  the  largest  share  in  his  renown.  I  think  it  must  be  allowed 
that  he  was  her  greatest  citizen  —  the  finest  product,  on  the  whole,  of 
her  century  of  history.  That  is  a  large  claim,  but  I  advance  it  with 
some  confidence.  When  the  future  historian  comes  to  test,  by  the 
standards  of  impartial  criticism,  the  characters  and  the  services  of  the 
men  of  Ohio  who  have  been  at  the  front  in  the  nineteenth  century,  I 
think  that  the  name  of  Rutherford  Birchard  Hayes  will  lead  all  the  rest. 
Grant  and  Sherman  and  Sheridan  were  greater  generals;  Garfield  was  a 
greater  genius ;  and  there  have  been  greater  orators  and  greater  jurists  and 
greater  educators;  but  take  him  all  in  all,  for  an  all-round  man — citizen, 
soldier,  statesman,  scholar,  man  of  books,  man  of  brains,  man  of  affairs, 
husband,  father,  philanthropist,  neighbor,  friend  —  there  is  not  another 
who  will  measure  quite  as  large  as  the  good  man  who  has  just  gone. 

Mr.  Carl  Schurz,  writing  in  Harper's  Weekly  (of  January  28, 
1893),  declared:  — 

It  may  be  said  without  exaggeration  that  public  station  in  this  coun 
try  has  seldom,  if  ever,  been  graced  by  a  man  of  purer  character,  or 
higher  and  more  conscientious  conception  of  duty,  and  more  patriotic 
motives.  President  Hayes  assumed  the  duties  of  his  office  under  cir 
cumstances  of  unusual  difficulty.  Had  he  been  a  selfish  politician,  or  a 
man  of  no  more  than  an  ordinary  measure  of  moral  courage,  he  would 
have  sought  the  favor  of  the  most  powerful  elements  of  his  party,  that 
they  might  fight  his  battles  for  him.  This  he  did  not  do.  He  had  noth 
ing  in  view  but  the  great  interests  of  the  country.  ...  He  stood  firmly 
by  his  principles.  The  Southern  policy  was  maintained,  the  resumption 
of  specie  payments  successfully  effected,  and  the  financial  honor  of  the 
country  preserved.  It  is  true  that  the  practical  reform  of  the  civil 
service  fell  short  of  the  original  programme;  but  considering  that  his 
predecessor  had  abandoned  the  whole  system,  that  President  Hayes  and 
the  heads  of  departments  under  him  had  to  work  without  any  appro 
priations  for  the  purpose,  and  were  at  every  step  obstructed  and  as 
sailed  by  a  hostile  Congress,  it  is  remarkable,  not  that  not  more,  but 
that  so  much  of  permanent  value  was  accomplished.  .  .  . 

The  ordinary  politician  has  been,  and  probably  will  remain,  fond  of 
saying  that  the  Administration  of  President  Hayes  was  a  political 


404  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

failure.  But  what  is  political  success?  If  it  consists  in  devising  and 
carrying  through  measures  and  policies  salutary  to  the  country,  then 
the  Administration  of  President  Hayes,  which  sowed  new  seeds  of 
peace,  patriotism,  and  prosperity  in  "the  States  lately  in  rebellion," 
which  gave  new  and  vigorous  vitality  to  the  then  moribund  reform  of 
the  civil  service,  which  infused  a  new  spirit  of  purity  and  conscience 
into  our  political  life,  and  which  then  was  followed  by  a  victory  of  its 
party  mainly  owing  to  the  general  contentment  with  the  recent  conduct 
of  the  Government,  has  been  the  most  successful  of  all  Republican 
Administrations  excepting  only  that  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

At  a  memorial  meeting  of  the  Ohio  Commandery  of  the  Loyal 
Legion  at  Cincinnati,  February  1,  1893,  General  Keifer,  who 
made  the  principal  speech,  said:  — 

I  knew  General  Hayes  well;  early  in  the  war  I  met  him.  He  was  then 
a  man  of  mature  years,  of  sound  and  deliberate  judgment,  the  same  I 
have  seen  him  exhibit  under  all  circumstances  since;  sincere,  candid, 
frank.  He  was  the  same  as  a  soldier,  as  a  citizen,  as  President  of  the 
United  States,  as  Governor  of  Ohio,  —  all  the  way  through  life.  He 
never  sought  to  shirk  a  duty  or  spare  himself.  He  was  a  great  man  in 
the  great  things  that  he  had  to  do.  He  dealt  with  the  things  that  were 
before  him.  He  was  never  dealing  with  imaginary  things.  If  he  had 
work  to  do,  he  devoted  himself  to  that.  In  that  way  he  crowned  himself 
with  greatness;  and  this  was  in  military  matters  and  in  civil  matters,  in 
official  life,  in  private  life;  and  this  is  the  highest  encomium  that  we  can 
pronounce  upon  an  American  citizen.  Hayes  lived  in  a  great  epoch  in 
this  country;  in  a  period  of  great  things  and  great  events,  and  he  filled 
to  the  full  all  of  the  opportunities  that  were  brought  to  him.  In  the 
army  he  was  devoted  to  his  work;  brave,  patriotic;  capable  of  com 
manding  an  army,  but  proud  to  command  a  division  or  a  brigade  and 
to  become  a  success  there.  He  never  worried  because  he  was  not  at 
the  head  of  the  army.  He  would  have  been  a  patient  colonel  all  the  time. 
These  were  the  things  that  had  much  to  do  with  making  up  the  ele 
ments  of  greatness  in  the  man. 

I  served  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  during  the  entire  period 
of  his  Presidential  term,  saw  him  frequently  and  under  all  circum 
stances,  —  and  it  was  not  always  fair  weather,  —  but  President  Hayes 
was  cheerful  and  on  duty  all  the  time,  by  day  and  night  faithfully,  and 
making  his  work  count  for  the  present  and  the  future.  President  Hayes 
never  had  a  scandal  about  the  White  House.  Nobody  dreamed  of  his 
being  anything  but  patriotic.  Everything  was  clean  and  pure  about 
him.  Men  criticized  him  from  one  standpoint,  and  some  from  another; 
yet  he  never  turned  aside  from  his  duty  as  he  saw  it.  He  had  his  stand 
ard  of  duty  and  he  lived  up  to  it.  And  the  result  of  it  was,  that  if  he 
erred  and  had  shortcomings,  he  had  no  apologies  to  offer,  and  criticism 
has  never  feazed  his  pure  administration  of  the  Presidency. 


THE  FINAL  SCENES  405 

The  commandery  later  adopted  a  minute,  prepared  by  a  com 
mittee  consisting  of  William  McKinley,  Robert  P.  Kennedy, 
and  Moses  M.  Granger,  which  had  these  sentences:  — 

His  works  and  charities  enrich  and  ennoble  his  memory,  and  he  has 
left  behind  him  a  wealth  of  good  deeds  more  priceless  than  worldly 
riches.  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  was  one  of  nature's  noblemen.  Unassum 
ing,  he  yet  possessed  the  courage  of  strong  convictions,  and  was  ever 
ready  to  defend  his  opinions  and  judgment  to  the  last. 

Every  battlefield  which  saw  his  presence  witnessed  his  devotion. 
Every  contest  testified  to  his  intrepid  valor,  whether  leading  the  splen 
did  regiment  with  which  his  name  is  and  will  be  forever  associated,  or  in 
wider  fields,  gathering  the  renown  which  his  patriotism,  courage,  and 
ability  won  from  the  willing  hearts  of  his  countrymen. 

True  in  his  friendships  and  lasting  in  his  devotion  to  his  old  com 
rades,  he  never  forgot  a  friend,  nor  failed  to  remember  the  sacrifices 
they  had  made.  And  those  who  had  served  with  or  under  him  always 
found  him  the  same  generous,  manly,  and  kind-hearted  companion. 

The  political  preferments  which  came  to  him  at  the  hands  of  his 
countrymen  did  not  spoil  him  nor  destroy  his  usefulness  and  sincerity; 
but  from  every  position  to  which  he  was  elevated  by  the  suffrages  of 
the  people,  he  came  with  the  self -consciousness  of  having  performed  his 
duty  ably,  honestly,  and  faithfully;  and  after  generations  will  do  him 
the  justice  to  recognize  him  as  one  of  the  wisest  and  best  of  the  nation's 
great  leaders  in  the  most  trying  hours  of  national  reorganization. 

The  country  has  lost  one  of  its  great  statesmen  and  one  of  its  most 
faithful  defenders.  His  old  army  comrades  have  lost  a  brave  com 
mander,  an  honorable  associate,  and  a  wise  counsellor:  the  Loyal  Legion 
one  of  its  most  devoted  and  beloved  Companions.  And  as  citizens  we 
have,  each  and  all,  lost  a  devoted  comrade,  a  true  and  faithful  friend. 
That  which  remains  for  us  to  cherish  is  the  memory  of  this  clean-handed, 
mild-mannered,  clear-minded,  noble-hearted  patriot,  statesman,  and 
philanthropist  — 

"A  combination  and  a  form,  indeed, 
Where  every  god  did  seem  to  set  his  seal. 
To  give  the  world  assurance  of  a  man." 

At  the  annual  encampment  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Repub 
lic  of  Ohio  in  1893,  Governor  McKinley,  who,  it  will  be  remem 
bered,  was  throughout  the  war  in  Hayes's  regiment,  said :  — 

I  never  saw  a  braver  or  a  better  soldier  than  Rutherford  B.  Hayes. 
He  was  a  pure  man  —  pure  in  his  life,  pure  in  his  walk,  pure  in  his  con 
versation  ;  his  whole  life  was  an  example  to  the  young  men  of  the  United 
States.  In  all  the  years  I  knew  him,  I  never  heard  him  utter  an  oath,  or 
utter  a  sentence  that  might  not  be  spoken  in  the  most  polite  society  of 
the  world.  Clean  in  heart,  he  was  clean  in  speech.  He  hated  anything 


406  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

unmanly;  and  his  arm  was  never  lifted  against  the  right,  for  his  soul 
abhorred  wrong.  I  can  say  of  him,  as  was  said  of  another  great  states 
man,  a 

—  "divinely  gifted  man, 

Whose  life  in  low  estate  began 
And  on  a  simple  village  green; 

"Who  breaks  his  birth's  invidious  bar, 
And  grasps  the  skirts  of  happy  chance, 
And  breasts  the  blows  of  circumstance, 
And  grapples  with  his  evil  star; 

"And  makes  by  force  his  merit  known, 
And  lives  to  clutch  the  golden  keys, 
To  mould  a  mighty  state's  decrees, 
And  shape  the  whisper  of  the  throne  ; 

"And  moving  up  from  high  to  higher, 
Becomes  on  Fortune's  crowning  slope 
The  pillar  of  a  people's  hope, 
The  centre  of  a  world's  desire." 

General  R.  Brinkerhoff,  long  a  member  of  the  Ohio  Board  of 
State  Charities,  speaking  before  the  Prison  Congress  at  the 
World's  Fair,  Chicago  (June  7,  1893),  said:  — 

Upon  the  whole,  as  a  model  American  citizen  in  character  and  con 
duct,  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  I  do  not  believe  we  have  a  better 
example  in  American  history.  ...  As  his  life  is  seen  in  its  true  perspec 
tive,  I  am  very  sure  that  no  American  President,  who  has  yet  lived,  will 
be  remembered  more  gratefully  by  the  American  people.  He  was  not  a 
brilliant  or  showy  man  and  manifested  no  transcendent  genius  in  any 
department  of  human  endeavor,  except  perhaps  the  genius  of  common 
sense;  but  in  every  position  he  was  placed  he  manifested  a  broad-minded 
comprehension  of  its  requirements  and  discharged  its  duties  ably  and 
with  marked  integrity. 

And  the  Reverend  F.  H.  Wines,  who  had  been  closely  asso 
ciated  with  Mr.  Hayes  in  philanthropic  work,  speaking  before 
the  Congress  of  Charities,  Correction,  and  Philanthropy  at 
Chicago  (June  12,  1893),  said:  — 

I  think  the  quality  in  him  which  impressed  us  most  was  his  superb 
self-control.  He  was  master  of  his  thoughts,  master  of  his  appetites, 
master  of  his  passions,  master  of  his  tongue.  His  will  dominated  his 
body,  and  his  conscience  dominated  his  will.  .  .  .  He  was  never  known 
to  speak  unkindly  of  a  human  being.  He  determined  that,  after  leav 
ing  the  White  House,  he  would  not  be  interviewed  on  politics,  and  I 
have  seen  the  discomfiture  of  an  overzealous  reporter  who  attempted  to 


THE  FINAL  SCENES  407 

accomplish  the  impossible.  The  fire  in  his  eye,  the  set  firmness  of  his 
mouth,  and  the  gentleness  of  his  voice,  as  he  repulsed  him,  will  live  in 
my  recollection  forever.  And  the  patient  reserve  with  which  he  sub 
mitted  to  abuse  and  misrepresentation,  without  opening  his  lips  in 
apology,  extenuation,  or  explanation,  trusting  his  reputation  to  time 
and  to  the  impartial  judgment  of  history,  was  sublime. 

He  entered  the  White  House  under  the  most  extraordinary  circum 
stances,  under  bonds  to  enforce  a  policy  of  pacification  which  was  most 
unpopular  with  his  own  party,  and  for  which  he  received  but  scanty 
acknowledgment  from  the  South,  though  Wade  Hampton  has  truth 
fully  said  that  the  South  owes  him  a  debt  which  it  can  never  repay.  He 
planted  himself  upon  what  he  believed  to  be  the  right,  and  stood  there 
like  Simeon  Stylites  on  his  pillar  in  the  desert,  almost  deserted  by  the 
politicians,  compromised  as  a  Republican  by  the  attention  shown  him 
by  Southern  Democrats,  and  sustained  only  by  his  conscience  and  by 
the  echoes  of  approval  which  reached  him  through  private  letters  from 
scholars  and  from  the  common  people.  If  Mr.  Tilden  suffered  the  stings 
of  fate,  President  Hayes  was  a  far  greater  sufferer.  His  only  consolation 
was  the  spectacle  of  the  irresistible  rising  of  the  tide  of  returning  reason 
on  the  part  of  the  Republicans,  who  were  compelled  to  sustain  him, 
when  he  resisted  the  attempt  to  attach  political  riders  to  the  bills  mak 
ing  appropriations  for  the  support  of  the  Government,  a  struggle  in 
which  he  exhibited  the  courage  of  a  Spartan  and  the  self-possession  of 
a  sage.  Yet  he  died  unforgiven  by  those  whose  will  he  had  crossed,  with 
a  willow  at  the  head  of  the  grave  where  there  should  have  been  planted, 
and  will  yet  be  planted,  the  laurel  and  the  olive  tree. 

Senator  Dawes,  addressing  the  Lake  Mohonk  Indian  Con 
ference  of  1893,  declared:  — 

No  President  of  the  United  States  had  ever  before  been  elected  by  the 
narrow  margin  which  placed  him  in  the  chair,  nor  had  the  title  of  any 
other  President  been  determined  by  any  such  law  as  placed  him  there. 
And  no  man  —  I  venture  to  say  that  it  is  the  common  judgment  of  the 
American  people  of  all  parties,  looking  back  upon  those  times  —  no 
man  with  less  of  discretion  and  acknowledged  honesty  of  purpose  as 
well  as  devotion  to  the  good  of  the  country  could  have  been,  under  the 
passions  and  bitterness  of  party  politics,  placed  there,  as  he  was,  and 
commanded,  as  he  did,  the  acquiescence  alike  of  political  friend  and 
political  foe.  And  that,  too,  without  a  ripple  of  disturbance  in  the  pub 
lic  mind,  or  outbreak  of  passion  in  the  party  press  of  the  country. 

His  Administration  was  marked  by  a  purity  that,  without  dispar 
agement  of  any  other,  has  hardly  been  found  in  the  history  of  the  coun 
try.  During  it  all  there  was  not  a  breath  of  scandal,  and  during  it  all 
there  was  no  criticism  which  passed  beyond  that  of  honest  difference 
of  opinion  as  to  policy  and  the  political  principles  upon  which  govern 
ment  ought  to  be  administered. 


408  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

When  he  retired  from  office,  he  did  not  consider  that  he  had  retired 
from  the  service  of  his  fellow  men.  .  .  .  The  ancients  inscribed  on  a 
monument  erected  in  honor  of  one  of  their  illustrious  men  these  words: 
Cujus  negotium  an  otium  gloriosius  incertum.  (It  is  uncertain  whether  he 
was  more  illustrious  in  his  public  service  or  in  his  private  life.)  So  with 
our  friend.  Rich  as  is  the  example  which  he  has  left  to  us  of  his  public 
service,  the  loveliness  of  his  character  and  the  sweetness  of  his  temper, 
and  the  daily  beauty  as  well  as  the  noble  work  of  his  private  life  shine 
out  to  cheer  and  bless,  and,  I  trust,  to  improve  the  life  of  those  who 
knew  him  as  I  did. 

At  a  memorial  meeting  of  the  alumni  of  Kenyon  College,  at 
commencement  time,  1893,  speeches  were  made  by  distinguished 
alumni  relating  to  every  phase  of  Mr.  Hayes's  career.  Mr. 
William  C.  Reynolds  said:  — 

President  Hayes  in  his  inaugural  pledged  himself  never  to  be  a  candi 
date  for  reelection,  and  therefore  he  was  free  to  carry  on  his  Adminis 
tration  in  singleness  of  mind  and  unselfishness  of  purpose,  to  carry  out 
the  policy  which  commended  itself  to  him.  When  his  term  ended,  he 
left  his  exalted  post  with  no  unsatisfied  ambitions,  with  no  torturing 
desire  to  return  to  the  stage  which  he  had  quitted,  and,  in  the  spirit  of 
Goethe's  splendid  aphorism,  he  was  ready  to  turn  each  day  to  the 
nearest  duty.  The  duties  of  private  life  were  to  him  as  sacred  and  as 
ennobling  as  those  which  attracted  the  attention  of  the  world,  and  he 
left  no  hour  untouched  by  his  devotion  to  duty,  by  his  love  of  mankind. 
Of  him  it  may  certainly  be  said  that  he  considered  of  one  blood  all  the 
nations  of  the  world.  His  sympathies  went  out  for  the  poor  Indian  and 
he  aimed  to  redress  some  of  the  century  of  dishonor  which  has  attached 
to  our  nation.  He  sought  to  lift  up  the  black  man  from  the  degradation 
which  centuries  of  slavery  had  stamped  upon  him;  but  while  his  sym 
pathies  ran  out  towards  the  poor  and  oppressed,  he  was  equally  the 
friend  of  all.  .  .  . 

He  was  a  man  of  rounded  character,  and  with  the  desire  for  honorable 
fame.  He  was  fortunate  in  his  life,  and  I  deem  him  fortunate  in  his 
death.  He  had  filled  the  measure  of  his  day;  he  went  in  the  full  ma 
turity  of  his  powers  —  honor,  love,  obedience,  troops  of  friends.  His 
presence  has  gone  forever  from  our  sight,  but  his  name  and  his  memory 
are  a  rich  legacy  to  those  who  loved  him  and  an  inspiring  example  to  us 
all.  Sincere  student,  earnest  friend,  wise  counsellor,  tried  patriot,  brave 
soldier,  friend,  neighbor,  brother  —  Hail  and  farewell ! 1 

1  The  tributes  from  which  these  passages  have  been  taken  would,  if  printed 
in  full,  make  a  fair-sized  volume,  and  they  are  only  a  few  out  of  the  multitude 
that  were  published  in  the  months  following  Mr.  Hayes's  death.  From  the  num 
berless  editorial  articles  in  the  daily  press,  the  limitations  of  space  forbid  quoting 
more  than  these  paragraphs  from  the  Cincinnati  Tribune :  — 

"  General  Hayes  was  not  a  great  man  in  the  sense  that  we  have  come  to  look 


THE  FINAL  SCENES  409 

These  citations,  and  countless  others  of  a  similar  tenor  could 
be  adduced,  bear  eloquent  testimony  to  the  impression  made 
by  the  personality  of  Mr.  Hayes  on  men  of  force  and  character 
who  knew  him  well  and  who  were  long  and  intimately  associated 
with  him  in  his  public  career  or  in  the  benevolent  activities  of 
his  later  years.  Familiarity  only  deepened  their  regard  and 
heightened  their  respect  for  his  character  and  his  powers.  They 
never  had  any  doubt  of  the  true  greatness  of  the  man.  He  might 
not  possess  transcendent  intellectual  gifts,  nor  the  brilliancy 
and  imaginative  power  displayed  by  great  orators,  but  he  had, 
in  equipoise  and  under  complete  control,  all  the  solid  qualities 
of  character  and  mind  which  fit  a  man  to  win  the  confidence  of 
his  fellows  and  mark  him  for  their  chosen  leader.1  These  were 
a  clear  and  penetrating  intelligence,  impregnable  to  the  assaults 

upon  Webster  and  Clay  and  Lincoln  as  great  men,  yet  he  never  assumed  a  public 
duty  that  he  did  not  discharge  with  a  fidelity  and  intelligence  that  left  nothing 
to  be  desired.  From  the  humblest  to  the  highest  position  duty  was  his  watch 
word,  conscience  his  guide,  and  love  of  country  his  inspiration.  Happy  the  na 
tion  with  such  a  trinity  embodied  in  an  intelligent  public  servant. 

"Familiar  with  examples  of  partisanship  exalting  men  into  party  idols,  he 
refused  the  worship  which  intense  devotion  to  party  might  have  won,  preferring 
the  more  honorable  and  enduring  reputation  which  comes  alone  to  him  in  whom 
love  of  country  is  paramount,  and  he  lived  to  reap  that  honor,  despite  his  con 
nection  with  trying  events  which  intensified  partisan  bitterness  to  the  verge  of 
national  destruction.  Had  he  been  the  mere  partisan  he  could  not  have  survived 
the  contumely  that  connection  provoked. 

"  With  a  tact  and  wisdom  so  rare  as  to  be  unparalleled  in  our  history  he  long 
since  conquered  the  hostility  of  his  political  foes  and  placated  those  of  his  politi 
cal  friends  who  were  too  intensely  partisan  to  appreciate  the  justice  and  candor 
of  his  methods  and  the  transparent  purity  of  his  public  policy. 

"The  arts  of  the  politician,  deemed  so  essential  to  political  preferment,  were 
unknown  to  him,  or,  if  known,  were  untried,  for  he  considered  no  cause  pro 
moted  by  a  victory  dishonorably  won.  In  this  he  ignored  party  traditions  and 
for  a  season  rendered  himself  obnoxious  to  party  leaders,  but  he  left  his  party 
stronger  than  he  found  it,  thus  vindicating  the  wisdom  of  his  policy. 

"He  was  not  of  those  who  consider  all  virtue  and  wisdom  to  reside  in  his  own 
party,  hence  he  was  in  no  offensive  sense  a  partisan,  because  he  was,  first  of  all, 
a  patriot.  His  political  creed  was  summed  up  in  the  now  familiar  phrase:  'He 
serves  his  party  best  who  serves  his  country  best.'  " 

1  Words  used  by  Mr.  Hayes,  February  10,  1886,  at  the  banquet  of  the  Loyal 
Legion  at  Cincinnati,  in  speaking  of  General  Hancock  who  had  just  died,  can 
be  applied  with  more  force  and  propriety  to  Mr.  Hayes  himself.  He  said:  "If, 
when  we  make  up  our  estimate  of  a  public  man,  conspicuous  both  as  a  soldier 
and  in  civil  life,  we  are  to  think  first  and  chiefly  of  his  manhood,  his  integrity, 
his  purity,  his  singleness  of  purpose,  and  his  unselfish  devotion  to  duty,  we  can 
say  truthfully  of  Hancock  that  he  was  through  and  through  pure  gold." 


410  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

of  sophistry;  a  judgment,  cautious  and  deliberate  in  its  action, 
but  when  once  formed  not  to  be  shaken  from  its  conviction;  a 
will  that  did  not  waver;  sincerity  and  honesty  of  mind  and  act; 
absolute  veracity  and  candor  in  speech  and  conduct;  faithful 
ness  in  discharging  every  obligation  imposed  on  him  or  assumed 
by  him;  constant  and  unquestioning  obedience  to  the  com 
mands  of  duty;  a  conscience  void  of  offense;  a  patriotism  that 
rose  above  party,  that  was  founded  on  intense  faith  in  the 
American  Constitution  and  an  abiding  belief  in  the  high  mis 
sion,  under  Providence,  of  America  in  the  world,  and  that  was 
ready  to  give  his  life  for  the  country's  welfare;  an  understanding 
of  the  common  people  —  the  great  masses  of  his  fellow  country 
men —  and  full  sympathy  with  their  needs  and  aspirations; 
unselfish  interest  in  all  wise  endeavors  for  the  public  good.  And 
with  all  this  he  was 

"Rich  in  saving  common-sense, 
And,  as  the  greatest  only  are, 
In  his  simplicity,  sublime." 

Many  who  wrote  or  spoke  of  him  at  the  time  of  his  death 
applied  to  him  the  words  of  Tennyson  just  quoted  from  the 
ode  to  the  great  Duke.  Equally  appropriate  are  these  other 
verses  from  the  same  noble  poem :  — 

"  O  good  gray  head  which  all  men  knew, 
O  iron  nerve  to  true  occasion  true, 
O  fallen  at  length  that  tower  of  strength 
Which  stood  four-square  to  all  the  winds  that  blew! 

"He  is  gone  who  seemed  so  great.  — 
Gone;  but  nothing  can  bereave  him 
Of  the  force  he  made  his  own 
Being  here,  and  we  believe  him 
Something  far  advanced  in  state, 
And  that  he  wears  a  truer  crown 
Than  any  wreath  that  man  can  weave  him." 


CHAPTER  XLIII 

PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS 

IT  is  an  impossibility  ever  to  give  a  complete  portrayal  of  the 
life  and  character,  the  interests  and  endeavors,  of  any  per 
son  who  has  played  a  conspicuous  role  in  the  drama  of  human 
existence.  The  multiplicity  of  incidents  and  events  in  which  he 
has  had  a  share;  the  shifting  currents  of  public  opinion  wrhich 
have  influenced  his  thought;  the  complex  relationships  of  life, 
domestic,  social,  professional,  political,  which  have  affected  his 
conduct;  the  inner  and  spiritual  forces,  due  in  large  part  to 
heredity  and  environment  and  early  training,  but  modified  by 
culture  and  self-discipline  and  increasing  knowledge,  which  are 
the  hidden  sources  of  a  man's  real  character,  which  determine 
his  attitude  toward  life,  which  condition  his  motives  alike  in 
ordinary  affairs  and  in  the  crises  of  his  career,  —  how  can  all 
these  things  be  adequately  set  forth  on  the  printed  page?  We 
never  know  even  our  nearest  friends  in  all  the  intimacies  and 
implications  of  their  character,  in  all  the  possibilities  of  their 
powers,  though  in  essentials  our  conception  of  them  be  quite 
correct.  How  much  more  difficult  fully  to  grasp  and  then  to 
delineate  precisely  as  he  was  a  man  who  lived  in  other  days  — 
not  so  very  remote  in  time,  to  be  sure,  but  when  the  thoughts 
that  shook  mankind,  the  passions  and  aspirations  that  provoked 
controversy  and  roused  to  action,  were  so  different  from  those 
which  men  now  are  finding  most  important.  Only  by  patient 
effort  and  sympathetic  imagination  can  one  really  enter  into 
the  feelings  and  hopes,  the  ideals  and  motives,  of  such  a  life. 
And  even  so,  however  vivid  one's  own  conception  may  be,  one 
never  can  be  quite  sure  that  one  has  not  overlooked  or  over 
estimated  some  fact  or  quality,  nor  fail  to  be  conscious  of  the 
perils  of  overemphasis  or  of  inadequate  expression,  when  one 
strives  to  make  that  conception  live  in  the  written  word. 

The  portrayal  of  Mr.  Hayes,  as  he  lived  and  acted,  which 
has  been  presented  in  the  preceding  chapters,  is  believed  to  be 


412  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

essentially  accurate  in  statement  of  fact  and  in  interpretation 
of  spirit.  But  certain  other  details  should  be  added,  many, 
perhaps,  of  slight  intrinsic  importance,  in  order  better  to  under 
stand  what  manner  of  man  he  was. 

In  personal  appearance  Mr.  Hayes  at  the  time  of  his  election 
to  the  Presidency  was  a  handsome  man,  with  well-proportioned 
figure.1  He  was  five  feet  eight  and  one  half  inches  in  height,  and 
his  weight  was  around  one  hundred  and  seventy  pounds.  In  his 
earlier  manhood  he  had  been  somewhat  slighter,  but  his  four 
years  of  campaigning  and  of  open-air  life  gave  him  a  more  stal 
wart  frame.  At  times  in  the  White  House  and  later  his  weight 
approached  one  hundred  and  ninety  pounds,  but  seldom  went 
above  one  hundred  and  eighty.  He  was  strong  and  vigorous  phys 
ically,  walked  with  a  light,  elastic  step,  and  delighted  in  out 
door  exercise.  In  his  student  years  he  was  fond  of  athletic  sports, 
and  when  his  sons  were  growing  up  he  would  join  them  in  their 
games.  He  was  an  expert  rifle  shot  and  never  lost  his  zest  in 
firing  at  a  mark.  This  was  one  of  his  means  of  recreation  while 
he  was  President.  He  liked  to  drive,  and  always  at  Fremont  had 
a  pair  of  excellent  carriage  horses.  He  was  fond  of  his  dogs  and 
took  pride  in  his  herd  of  fine  Jerseys.  His  grounds  were  an  abid 
ing  source  of  pleasure  to  him,  and  he  was  never  happier  than 
when  planning  to  enhance  their  attractiveness,  opening  new 
vistas,  and  planting  and  nurturing  new  trees  and  shrubs. 

Mr.  Hayes  had  a  large  head,  well  poised  on  broad  shoulders. 
His  features  were  mobile  and  expressive.  The  forehead  was  high 
and  massive;  the  nose,  straight  and  finely  chiselled;  the  lips, 
firm  but  sensitive;  the  teeth,  white,  sound,  and  regular.  The 
eyes,  rather  deeply  set,  under  arching  brows,  were  dark  blue. 
They  looked  you  straight  and  steady  in  the  face,  having  no 
fear  or  apology  or  concealment  in  them,  and  usually  beamed 
benignant;  but  on  occasion  they  could  flash  with  the  fire  of 

1  The  Boston  Transcript  said  editorially  of  him  at  the  time  of  his  visit  to 
Boston  in  June,  1877:  "President  Hayes  strikes  observing  people  favorably,  in 
the  first  place,  from  his  robustness  of  form  and  remarkable  cranial  development. 
Beyond  any  acquirements,  the  result  of  culture  or  experience,  his  whole  pres 
ence  conveys  the  idea  of  a  stalwart  manhood.  He  admirably  represents  the 
highest  type  of  Western  civilization.  His  manly  figure,  honest,  brave,  thought 
ful,  and  occasionally  lustrous  countenance,  together  with  the  quiet,  unmis 
takable  force  which  forms  an  essential  feature  of  his  individuality,  mark  him  as 
a  leader." 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS  413 

battle  or  of  righteous  wrath,  or  could  darken  with  scorn  or  indig 
nation.  Increasing  age  did  not  weaken  their  strength  nor  dim 
their  vision.  To  the  end  of  his  life  Mr.  Hayes  never  used  glasses. 

He  had  abundant  hair  of  a  dark  brown  color,  though  still 
showing  hints  of  its  earlier  auburn  shade,  which  he  parted  low 
on  the  left  side  and  brushed  well  back  from  his  forehead.  He 
always  wore  a  full  beard  from  the  time  he  entered  the  army. 
This  had  a  reddish  or  sandy  tinge.  Already  both  beard  and  hair 
had  begun  to  show  slight  traces  of  grey,  which  became  more 
pronounced  in  the  White  House,  and  in  the  last  years  they  were 
completely  silvered.1 

Mr.  Hayes  was  most  gentle  in  manner  and  speech.  His  voice 
was  mild  and  evenly  modulated;  but  it  possessed  a  vibrant, 
penetrating  quality  which  gave  it  great  carrying  power.  He 
could  always  be  heard  in  the  largest  assemblages,  and  in  open- 
air  political  meetings  few  speakers  could  make  themselves 
audible  to  a  greater  multitude.  On  the  battlefield  his  commands 
rang  out  like  clarion  calls. 

Mr.  Hayes  had  no  affectations  or  vanities  of  apparel  or  de 
meanor.  He  dressed  simply  and  well  in  the  prevailing  fashion. 
He  wore  no  jewelry,  unless  watch  and  chain  and  a  plain  gold  ring 

1  An  occasional  correspondent  of  the  London  Times,  writing  from  Washing 
ton  December  5,  1877,  gives  this  pen-portrait  of  Mr.  Hayes,  after  seeing  him  at 
an  informal  reception  one  evening  at  the  White  House:  "I  was  struck  by  the 
perfect  simplicity  and  polish  of  the  President's  manners  —  dignified,  though  not 
stiff,  and  full  of  the  hearty  abandon  of  a  man  who  feels  himself  at  home  and 
among  private  friends.  Many  years  ago  I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  seeing  Presi 
dent  Pierce  at  the  White  House,  the  charm  of  whose  manner  and  presence  was 
proverbial  in  that  day,  and  the  actual  President  recalled  him  vividly  to  my 
mind,  in  appearance  as  well  as  in  manner,  and  especially  in  the  frank,  soldier 
like  bearing  and  speech,  and  the  total  absence  of  all  affectation  or  humbug  in 
manner  or  conversation.  Mr.  Hayes  is  a  man  in  the  very  vigor  and  prime  of  life, 
apparently  in  the  enjoyment  of  perfect  health  both  of  mind  and  body.  He  is 
above  the  medium  height,  powerfully  but  compactly  made,  with  broad  shoulders 
and  chest;  an  upright  carriage  of  the  head,  clear  eyes  which  look  straight  into 
those  of  his  interlocutor,  and  fair  hair  and  beard,  into  the  latter  of  which  some 
silvery  hairs  are  beginning  to  make  their  appearance,  premature  as  they  may  be 
for  so  comparatively  young  a  man.  Personally  he  certainly  is  a  most  prepos 
sessing  man,  both  in  manner  and  appearance;  and  he  looks  as  though  he  should 
be  both  a  prompt  and  a  decided  one  in  character.  The  contrast  between  himself 
and  the  military  'Sphinx'  lately  encamped  at  the  White  House  is  most  striking. 
The  camp  equipage  and  associations,  and  'aides  in  waiting,'  have  disappeared 
from  the  Presidential  mansion,  and  the  stamp  of  a  citizen  President  is  on  it  once 
more." 


414  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

can  so  be  called;  nor  any  ornament  except  the  simple  insignia 
of  the  Grand  Army  and  the  Loyal  Legion.  One  cannot  conceive 
of  him  as  appearing  at  a  convention  or  in  any  public  gathering 
in  military  garb,  or  sombrero,  or  flaunting  a  bandanna.  He 
had  an  instinctive  aversion  to  all  personal  display,  to  any  action 
that  savored  of  ostentation.  He  practised  none  of  the  arts  or 
devices  in  manner  or  speech  of  the  demagogue.  He  never  solic 
ited  a  nomination  to  a  political  office  of  low  or  high  degree;  he 
never  sought  promotion  in  his  years  of  military  service;  he  never 
strove  to  obtain  any  honors  or  distinctions  in  the  varied  rela 
tions  of  private  life,  or  the  army  societies,  or  the  organized  move 
ments  for  public  benefit  in  which  he  shared.  Nominations,  pro 
motions,  distinctions  searched  him  out  and  were  pressed  upon 
him.1  The  fidelity  and  conscientiousness,  the  ability  and  sound 
judgment  with  which  he  administered  every  office  to  which  he 
was  chosen,  and  fulfilled  every  obligation  that  he  assumed, 
justified  and  approved  the  confidence  of  his  sponsors  and  sup 
porters  and  prepared  the  way  for  his  further  advancement. 
The  master  motive  of  his  life,  the  mainspring  of  his  conduct  in 
public  service  and  in  private  relations,  was  an  imperious  sense 
of  duty;  to  be  true  to  principles;  to  do  that  which  he  believed 
to  be  right  on  every  occasion  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  The  very 
simplicity  of  this  rule  of  life,  which  so  easily  explains  his  course 
of  conduct  in  all  the  important  crises  of  his  career,  constantly 
puzzled  and  bewildered  men  of  more  subtle  quality,  who,  to 
accomplish  their  purposes,  relied  in  no  small  part  on  the  forces 
of  indirection,  on  the  agencies  of  intrigue,  and  on  the  artifices  of 
compromise  and  combination. 

Mr.  Hayes  was  frank  and  outspoken  in  the  expression  of  his 
views  and  sentiments  to  trusted  friends,  and  in  giving  them  to 
the  public  when  he  thought  the  proper  occasion  had  arrived. 
But  he  never  talked  on  a  subject  before  he  had  thought  about  it; 
and  no  politician  or  reporter  for  the  press,  however  pertinacious, 

1  "One  of  the  fortunate  facts  in  my  career  is  that  I  never  had  an  overweening 
fondness  for  political  life.  My  ambition  for  station  was  always  easily  controlled. 
If  the  place  came  to  me  it  was  welcome.  But  it  never  seemed  to  me  worth  seeking 
at  the  cost  of  self-respect,  of  independence.  My  family  were  not  historic.  They 
were  well  to  do;  did  not  hold  or  seek  office.  It  was  easy  for  me  to  be  contented 
in  private  life.  An  honor  was  no  honor  to  me  if  obtained  by  my  own  seeking." 
(Diary,  July  3,  1890.) 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS  415 

could  extract  a  word  from  him  when  he  chose  to  keep  his 
own  counsel.  His  singular  power  of  reticence  was  the  despair 
of  the  "interviewer"  and  the  admiration  of  his  friends.  Judge 
William  Johnston  wrote  to  him  as  early  as  March  17, 1868,  when 
he  was  a  comparatively  inconspicuous  member  of  Congress: 
"Next  to  U.  S.  Grant,  you  can  keep  your  mouth  shut  better 
than  any  man  in  America,  and  next  to  U.  S.  Grant,  I  hope  to  see 
you  rise  to  the  place  you  merit." 

People  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  felt  no  sense  of  constraint 
in  Mr.  Hayes's  presence.  While  he  preferred  the  society  of  men 
of  ideas,  he  assumed  no  airs  of  superiority  in  meeting  persons 
in  the  humbler  walks  of  life.1  He  entered  genially  and  affably 
into  their  interests,  discussed  the  topics  with  which  they  were 
familiar,  sought  to  get  their  point  of  view,  and  drew  them  out 
to  reveal  their  special  store  of  knowledge.  A  Scotch-Irish  farmer 
of  Michigan,  of  sturdy  character,  but  slow  of  speech  and  heavy 
of  intellect,  never  tired  of  telling  of  the  great  occasion  when  he 
met  and  talked  with  President  Hayes.  "Why,"  he  said  to  the 
author  in  culmination  of  his  words  of  praise,  "he  was  just  as 
common  as  any  man  I  ever  met";  meaning  that  he  was  just  as 
easy  to  approach;  that  he  had  met  this  farmer  on  the  level  of 
their  common  humanity;  that  he  had  not  talked  down  to  him, 
but  had  conversed  with  him  about  the  things  that  the  farmer 
understood  and  was  interested  in.  And  this  was  his  constant 
mood  of  mind  when  he  was  journeying  about  the  country  or 

1  The  New  York  Herald,  a  few  weeks  after  the  inauguration,  printed  a  report 
of  a  conversation  with  a  gentleman  described  as  "an  intimate  friend"  of  Mr. 
Hayes.  The  friend  is  not  named,  but  the  internal  evidence  justifies  the  char 
acterization.  This  friend  said  of  Mr.  Hayes:  "He  loves  children  and  they  love 
him,  and  he  unbends  to  them,  but  he  has  more  adaptability  than  any  man  I  ever 
saw.  He  seems  to  be  at  ease  in  whatever  society  he  happens  to  be.  He  is  fond 
of  fun  in  a  quiet  way  and  does  love  a  good  story.  Whenever  he  says  anything 
good  himself  it  is  always  in  a  quiet,  odd  sort  of  way.  I  remember  when  he  was 
Governor  of  Ohio,  during  his  first  term,  Olive  Logan,  while  on  a  lecturing  tour, 
was  arrested  in  Columbus  for  not  paying  the  municipal  license  which  the  pro 
prietors  of  all  public  entertainments  have  to  pay.  She  had  a  license  under  the 
Internal  Revenue  Law,  and  she  supposed  it  covered  the  whole  of  the  United 
States.  Knowing  Governor  Hayes  she  called  upon  him  and  told  him  of  her 
troubles.  He  referred  her  to  a  law  firm  and  said  to  her,  'Of  course,  you  will  have 
to  pay  the  license.  I  cannot  do  anything  for  you  unless  you  will  commit  a  felony 
and  get  into  the  penitentiary.  Then  I  might  pardon  you  out.'  The  lecturer  did 
not  avail  herself  of  the  Governor's  offer." 


416  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

mingling  with  the  people.  His  intellectual  curiosity  was  insati 
able.1  A  familiar  mode  he  had  of  greeting  acquaintances  was, 
"Well,  what  do  you  know?"  He  liked  to  ride  in  the  day- 
coaches  or  to  take  a  seat  in  the  smoking-compartment  for  the 
sake  of  the  opportunities  of  conversation  that  these  afforded; 
and  he  never  travelled  without  making  acquaintances  and  so 
adding  to  his  knowledge  of  men  and  to  his  understanding  of  the 
drift  of  public  opinion.  Any  pioneer  in  the  conquest  of  the  wilder 
ness,  any  man  who  had  had  unusual  experiences  in  life,  any  man 
who  had  been  or  was  active  or  interested  in  political  affairs,  wTas 
soon  led  on  to  tell  the  things  most  notable  in  his  career;  and 
scholar,  scientist,  artisan,  or  farmer,  to  discourse  on  the  theme 
of  which  each  had  superior  knowledge.  Mr.  Hayes  was  con 
stantly  recording  in  his  diary  the  names  and  qualities  of  his 
chance  travelling  companions,  with  some  hint  of  the  more  signi 
ficant  parts  of  their  conversation.  He  had  unusual  power  of 
remembering  faces  and  names,  even  after  years  recognizing  per 
sons  whom  he  had  only  met  casually  and  for  a  short  time.2  His 
notion  was  that  "conversation  ought  habitually  to  be  frank  and 
easy,  but  earnest  and  delightful."  He  liked  to  hear  and  to  tell 
good  stories,  provided  only  that  they  were  clean.  His  sense  of 
humor  was  alert,  both  as  to  situations  and  as  to  persons.  Solemn 
humbug  and  pretentious  egotism  could  only  provoke  his  merri 
ment. 

In  all  family  and  domestic  relations  Mr.  Hayes's  life  was  alto 
gether  exemplary.   To  his  widowed  mother  he  was  constant  in 

1  The  friend,  quoted  in  the  preceding  note,  spoke  of  Mr.  Hayes  as  "a  man  of 
fair  education,  but  the  most  persevering,  infernal  searcher  after  knowledge  I 
think  the  world  ever  saw,  on  anything  and  everything.  Why,  one  day  when  I  was 
walking  with  him  he  picked  up  a  round,  smooth  boulder  of  conglomerate.  He 
asked  me  what  it  was  and  how  it  got  to  be  round.  I  did  not  then  know  that  it 
was  the  attrition  of  water  that  had  worn  it  smooth,  and  he  walked  me  a  long 
distance  and  up  three  flights  of  stairs  until  we  found  a  man  that  did  know." 

2  Miss  Laura  Ream,  a  well-known  newspaper  writer  of  Indiana  in  her  day, 
gives  an  instance  of  this  in  a  letter  to  the  Cincinnati  Commercial,  dated  Wash 
ington,  April  8,  1877:  "President  Hayes  has  a  remarkable  faculty  of  remember 
ing  people.   At  his  first  reception  I  was  presented  along  writh  a  delegation  from 
the  sovereign  State  of  Ohio.   He  said,  'How  have  you  been?'  in  such  a  tone  of 
recognition  that  I  involuntarily  exclaimed,  'You  do  not  remember  me/   'Yes. 
I  saw  you  at  the  dedication  of  the  chapel  of  the  Soldiers'  Home,  at  Dayton.  You 
were  with  Governor  Baker.'  I  remembered  the  occasion  distinctly.  It  was  seven 
years  ago." 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS  417 

the  ministries  of  filial  affection  to  the  end  of  her  days.  Her  pride 
in  him  was  unbounded,  and  she  never  had  fault  to  find  with  him 
except  that  he  did  not  make  public  avowal  of  the  Christian  faith 
and  unite  himself  with  some  church.  He  was  equally  constant 
in  his  devotion  to  his  uncle,  Sardis  Birchard,  who  was  practi 
cally  his  foster  father,  and  who  lavished  upon  him  every  care 
and  assistance,  in  his  education  and  in  his  subsequent  career, 
that  any  father  could  bestow.  Between  him  and  his  sister,  from 
their  earliest  years  to  her  untimely  death,  the  most  intimate 
bonds  of  affection  and  friendship  existed,  with  never  a  shadow 
of  misunderstanding  or  doubt  to  cloud  the  constancy  of  their 
loving  relations.  She  was  the  confidante  of  all  his  hopes  and  day 
dreams,  of  all  his  thoughts  and  aspirations.  He  never  had  a  joy 
but  his  first  wish  was  that  she  might  share  it  with  him.  He  in 
curred  no  difficulty  or  disappointment  that  was  not  eased  by  her 
counsel  and  sympathy.  He  mourned  her  loss  throughout  his  life, 
recurring  frequently  in  his  diary  to  her  many  excellencies  of 
heart  and  mind,  to  the  influence  she  had  had  in  his  develop 
ment;  and  recording  with  pride,  long  years  after  her  demise,  any 
expressions  from  those  who  had  known  her  touching  her  beauty 
of  person  or  character  that  chance  brought  to  his  knowledge. 
To  her  children  he  was  throughout  his  life  almost  like  a  second 
father  in  his  interest  in  all  that  affected  their  welfare  and  in  the 
tenderness  of  his  regard. 

His  marriage  brought  him  abiding  content  and  constant 
felicity.  There  was  perfect  union  of  sentiment  and  thought,  of 
purpose  and  ambition;  that  complete  understanding  and  sym 
pathy  and  appreciation  which  keep  the  mind  at  ease  and  give 
it  stimulus  for  its  best  endeavor.  Mrs.  Hayes's  graces  of  mind 
and  character  contributed  greatly  to  his  success  in  public  life. 
Her  belief  in  him  was  a  spur  to  his  ambition.  Indeed,  she  was 
perhaps  more  ambitious  for  him  than  he  was  for  himself.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  any  other  American  public  man  ever  had  from 
his  wife  more  efficacious  assistance  in  his  career;  not,  to  be  sure, 
in  any  assertive  or  obtrusive  way,  but  by  reason  of  the  silent 
and  subtile  forces  of  her  stimulating  sympathy  and  of  her  un 
wavering  confidence  in  his  abilities  and  purposes.  She  was  gifted 
with  more  striking  qualities  of  popularity,  with  a  more  magnetic 
personality,  than  he.  No  one  came  into  her  presence  without 


418  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

immediate  consciousness  of  her  charm.  Political  opponents 
and  critics  of  her  husband  had  only  words  of  enthusiastic  praise 
when  her  name  was  mentioned.  It  is  impossible  to  estimate 
how  great  influence  her  unfailing  courtesy  and  tact  and  kind 
ness,  through  all  the  White  House  days,  exerted  in  softening  the 
asperities  of  political  contention.  Unquestionably  true  it  is  that 
this  influence  was  very  great.  To  the  end  of  her  life  no  cloud 
ever  obscured  the  constancy  of  their  mutual  love  and  confidence. 
The  passing  years  only  increased  their  dependence  on  each 
other.  Mr.  Hayes  had  joy  and  pride  in  all  that  his  wife  was,  and 
in  all  that  she  did  in  her  church  and  benevolent  activities;  and 
he  gloried  in  all  the  honors  and  social  distinctions  that  were  be 
stowed  upon  her.  And  when  Death  claimed  her  he  felt  that  the 
light  of  his  life  was  extinguished  and  that  his  path  henceforward 
must  be  in  gloom. 

Mr.  Hayes  watched  and  directed  the  development  and  educa 
tion  of  his  children  with  solicitude  and  affectionate  concern.  He 
was  never  harshly  censorious  or  arbitrary  in  his  methods  of 
dealing  with  them.  They  were  from  earliest  youth  treated  as 
reasonable  beings,  with  individual  qualities  and  individual 
rights,  deserving  of  recognition  and  respect.  When  admonition 
was  necessary,  it  was  given  in  gentle,  kindly  manner,  and  was 
made  to  appear  not  so  much  as  the  judgment  of  parental  au 
thority  as  the  dictate  of  right  and  reason.  He  made  himself  the 
comrade  and  companion  of  his  sons  in  their  studies  and  their 
sports,  treating  them  rather  like  an  older  brother  or  friend,  whose 
larger  experience  of  life  entitled  him  to  be  their  guide  and  coun 
sellor.  So  always  there  existed  between  father  and  children 
relations  of  confidence  and  equality  besides  those  of  paternal 
and  filial  affection.  He  was  not  given  to  preaching  to  the  chil 
dren  or  to  moralizing.  The  force  of  the  daily  example  of  life, 
the  spirit  of  right  principles  and  utter  truthfulness  and  regard 
for  all  the  better  things  —  "the  things  that  are  more  excellent" 
—  which  permeated  his  discourse  and  governed  his  conduct, 
were  more  influential  than  abstract  inculcation  of  morals.  But 
when  any  specific  fault  required  correction  he  was  prompt  to  say 
the  needed  word.  In  the  busy  time  of  the  Cincinnati  convention 
a  letter  came  to  him  from  one  of  his  sons,  who  was  with  the  poli 
ticians  at  Cincinnati,  in  which  some  vulgar  characterization  of 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS  419 

one  of  the  candidates  by  a  delegate  was  repeated.  In  spite  of 
the  press  of  matters  absorbing  his  attention,  Mr.  Hayes  in 
stantly  wrote  his  son  in  reproof,  admonishing  him  never  again 
to  soil  a  letter  with  such  a  recital.  This  reproof,  under  all  the 
circumstances,  made  a  deep  and  lasting  impression.  To  his  sons 
when  they  left  home  for  school  or  college  his  parting  admoni 
tion  was:  "Never  do  anything  or  say  anything  that  you  would 
be  ashamed  to  confide  to  your  mother."  In  the  frequent  letters 
to  his  sons  and  daughter  in  their  school  and  college  years,  there 
was  manifested  the  same  quality  of  easy  companionship  and 
equality  that  was  displayed  in  the  home  life.  Any  corrections  or 
notations  of  faults  that  were  offered  or  suggested  were  made  in 
a  half -playful  or  incidental  way  that  could  not  wound  the  pride 
or  self-esteem  of  youth. 

Mr.  Hayes  had  a  deep  sense  of  the  ties  of  consanguinity.  He 
was  the  first  of  his  family  name  and  connection  to  achieve  great 
distinction.  And  yet  there  were  many  of  his  sturdy  New  Eng 
land  ancestors  who  had  played  well  their  part  in  life,  and  there 
were  many  of  his  blood  among  his  contemporaries  who  in  pro 
fessional  or  business  pursuits  had  risen  far  above  the  common 
level.  His  ancestry  and  family  were  no  more  notable,  to  be  sure, 
than  multitudes  of  others  that  exemplified  the  virtues  of  the 
Puritan  discipline  and  bore  their  share  in  subduing  the  forests 
and  winning  America  to  civilization  and  freedom.  But  the  study 
of  origins  had  a  perpetual  fascination  for  him,  and  he  never  grew 
weary  of  searching  out  the  beginnings  and  vicissitudes,  the 
migrations  and  ramifications  of  the  Hayes  and  Birchard  families. 
He  made  numerous  visits  to  the  localities  of  their  early  settle 
ments  ki  New  England;  and  especially  to  the  Brattleboro  coun 
try  in  Vermont,  whence  his  father  had  migrated  to  Ohio,  and 
where  many  relatives  still  abode.  He  pursued  his  genealogical 
studies  also  by  means  of  long-continued  correspondence,  not 
only  with  his  nearer  relatives,  but  with  cousins  of  remote  degree, 
and  so  accumulated  a  vast  fund  of  information  relating  to  all 
branches  of  his  widely  scattered  kinsfolk.  He  succeeded  like 
wise  in  obtaining  many  old  family  letters,  diaries,  and  other 
documents,  and  many  pieces  of  ancestral  furniture.  He  became 
similarly  interested  and  alert  in  tracing  the  ancestry  of  Mrs. 
Hayes.  And  yet,  with  all  his  interest  and  zeal  in  genealogical 


420  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

inquiry,  Mr.  Hayes  did  not  attach  overmuch  importance  to  the 
matter.    He  writes  of  it  very  sensibly  in  his  diary  (March  6, 

1870):  — 

I  have  been  digging  into  Savage  and  other  books  on  genealogy  during 
the  last  week.  I  trace  my  lineage  up  almost  to  the  Mayflower,  but  not 
yet  into  it.  I  have  only  run  back  on  the  line  of  my  father's  side  of  the 
house,  and  the  important  family  of  the  Smiths  is  left  out;  almost  one 
half  of  the  stock.  To  be  exact  it  leaves  out  exactly  one  fourth  of  the 
stock,  as  I  find  nearly  one  half  of  the  Smiths.  Now,  the  new  idea  I  get 
by  this  study  is,  how  futile  it  is  to  trace  one's  descent  from  a  distin 
guished  name  in  the  past.  Two  hundred  and  thirty  or  forty  years  ago, 
my  ancestors  were  thirty  to  a  hundred  different  persons.  The  Hayes  or 
the  Rutherford  of  1625  was  only  one  out  of  forty  or  more  who  are  equally 
my  ancestors.  What  does  it  signify  that  John  Russell  was  able  and 
pious  in  1640?  I  am  but  one  part  in  forty  to  sixty  of  his  blood. 

We  attach  more  importance  to  the  deeds  of  ancestors  of  our  own 
names.  But  this  is  a  mere  figment  of  the  imagination.  I  am  just  as 
much  a  Trowbridge,  referring  now  to  the  Thomas  Trowbridge  who 
founded  the  family  in  New  Haven  in  1640,  as  any  of  those  now  living 
there  who  bear  his  name.  The  blood,  the  physical,  mental,  or  moral 
qualities  which  distinguished  an  early  "father"  do  not  follow  the  name, 
do  not  accompany  it.  I  have  always  thought  of  myself  as  Scotch,  but 
of  the  fathers  of  my  family  who  came  to  America,  about  thirty  were 
English  and  two  only,  Hayes  and  Rutherford,  were  of  Scotch  descent. 
This  is  on  my  father's  side.  On  my  mother's  side  the  whole  thirty-two 
were  probably  all  of  other  peoples  beside  the  Scotch. 

Again,  I  have  been  proud  of  my  descent  (not  very,  of  course,  only 
a  trifle  so)  from  the  famous  Rutherfords  ;  but  it  is  plain  that  the 
brains,  energy,  and  character  possessed  by  my  grandfather's  children 
and  grandchildren  —  by  the  children  and  grandchildren  of  Rutherford 
Hayes  —  are  mainly  derived  from  our  plain  ancestor  —  who  Uncle 
Sardis  says  was  the  homeliest  woman  he  ever  saw  —  Grandmother 
Chloe  Smith. 

Mr.  Hayes  was  always  ready  to  assist  any  of  his  relatives  or 
family  connections  to  the  extent  of  his  ability;  but  he  rigidly 
refused  while  President  to  appoint  any  one  of  them  to  public 
office,  whatever  his  merits  might  be.  The  nepotism  of  President 
Grant  had  been  so  great  as  to  be  a  scandal,  and  Mr.  Hayes  re 
solved  that  no  favoritism  of  family  should  mark  his  Administra 
tion. 

There  is  no  better  test  of  a  man's  character,  perhaps,  than  the 
quality  and  number  of  his  friendships.1  In  whatever  community 

1  Mr.  Hayes's  notion  of  friendship  is  well  expressed  in  a  letter,  of  May  21, 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS  421 

Mr.  Hayes  lived  and  in  whatever  relations  of  life  he  was  placed, 
he  sought  the  companionship  of  the  best  and  ablest  men,  and 
the  society  of  pure  and  noble  women.  Persons  of  this  sort  were 
attracted  toward  him  and  became  his  lifelong  friends.  It  would 
require  pages  merely  to  set  down  the  names  of  men  of  distinction 
who  counted  themselves  in  this  group.  In  the  early  Cincinnati 
days  his  friends  were  such  men  as  Salmon  P.  Chase,  Judge  Wil 
liam  Johnston,1  Judge  William  Dickson,  Ainsworth  R.  Spof- 
ford,  Stanley  Matthews,  John  W.  Herron,  Alphonso  Taft,  Dr. 
John  Davis,  Manning  F.  Force,  Moncure  D.  Conway,  and  Wil 
liam  Henry  Smith.  Among  men  of  the  army  his  friends  were 
very  numerous;  General  Grant,  General  Sherman,  General 
Sheridan,  General  Hancock,  General  Pope,  General  Crook, 

1890,  to  Mrs.  Herron:  "There  can  be  no  satisfactory  relations  between  friends 
whose  differences  are  so  decided  and  clean-cut  on  so  many  of  the  vitally  inter 
esting  topics.  In  such  cases  we  cannot  keep  together  if  the  questions  which  are 
tabooed  are  many  and  interesting.  I  believe  in  the  friendship  which  Emerson 
describes  in  the  finest,  perhaps,  of  his  essays:  'A  friend  is  a  person  with  whom 
I  may  be  sincere.  Before  him  I  may  think  aloud.  .  .  .  Almost  every  man  we  meet 
requires  some  civility  —  requires  to  be  humored;  he  has  some  fame,  some  talent, 
some  whim  of  religion  or  philanthropy  in  his  head  that  is  not  to  be  questioned, 
and  spoils  all  conversation  with  him.  But  a  friend  is  a  sane  man  who  exercises 
not  my  ingenuity  but  me.  My  friend  gives  me  entertainment  without  requiring 
any  stipulation  on  my  part.'  ...  'I  am  equally  balked  by  antagonism  and  com 
pliance.'  I  threw  in  that  last  sentence  out  of  all  connection,  happening  to  see 
it,  because  it  seems  to  me  that  it  hits  the  only  danger  in  our  relations  of  friend 
ship." 

1  "I  hear  to-day  of  the  death  of  my  old  friend  Judge  Johnston,  a  lawyer  un 
surpassed  before  a  jury;  a  master  of  English  pure  and  undefiled,  with  a  knowl 
edge  of  human  nature  rarely  equalled,  aged  eighty-four.  Not  a  successful  man 
either  in  attaining  place  or  accomplishing  things  for  the  public.  Acquired  a 
competency.  With  wit,  logic,  eloquence,  shrewdness."  (Diary,  October  17, 
1891.) 

"Judge  Johnston  outlived  his  contemporaries.  His  talk  was  of  Charles  Ham 
mond,  of  Benjamin  Tappan,  of  John  C.  Wright,  Philip  Doddridge,  Thomas 
Ewing,  Henry  Stanbery,  and  the  other  giants  of  the  bar  whose  example  was  the 
spur  to  his  young  ambition.  He  was  a  man  of  few  books,  but  the  few  he  loved 
were  the  great  books  and  he  had  them  at  his  tongue's  end.  The  Bible,  Pilgrim  s 
Progress,  Paradise  Lost,  and  especially  Shakespeare  were  his  favorites.  He  was 
fond  of  young  men.  Coming  to  Cincinnati  more  than  forty  years  ago,  I  soon 
became  fond  of  him  and  learned  to  prize  and  enjoy  his  teaching.  During  two 
winters,  one  or  two  evenings  a  week  at  his  house  with  other  young  men,  Shake 
speare  was  read  carefully  under  his  shrewd  and  wise  criticism.  His  arguments 
before  courts  and  juries  were  prepared  in  the  most  painstaking  way.  He  used 
to  say  that  no  man  was  fit  to  be  an  advocate  who  could  not  by  his  illustrations 
and  treatment  make  the  dryest  question  interesting  to  the  average  citizen." 
(Diary,  October  23,  1891.) 


RUTHERFORD   BIRCHARD   HAYES 

General  J.  D.  Cox,  General  Comly,  and  many,  many  others. 
Of  these  his  most  devoted  friend  was  doubtless  General  Comly, 
who  succeeded  him  as  colonel  of  the  Twenty-third  Regiment. 
He  was  editor  of  the  Ohio  State  Journal  in  the  campaign  year  of 
1876,  and  during  the  exciting  days,  while  the  electoral  dispute 
was  in  progress,  he  was  for  a  time  in  Washington,  at  President 
Grant's  request,  to  speak  from  his  own  knowledge  in  defining 
Mr.  Hayes's  attitude.  He  was  a  newspaper  writer  of  great  force 
and  intelligence  and  a  man  of  the  most  amiable  qualities.1 

It  is  possible  to  specify  only  a  few  of  the  men  in  political  life 
who  were  something  more  than  mere  political  friends.  Every 
member  of  his  Cabinet  became  his  personal  friend  and  continued 
to  correspond  with  him  in  his  later  years.  Mr.  Sherman  and  Mr. 
Schurz  were  closest  to  him  in  sympathy,  but  all  the  others  were 
loyal  in  their  regard.  All  the  Presidents  from  Lincoln  to  Taft 
he  knew,  and  with  all  from  General  Grant  on  he  had  pleasant 
personal  relations,  with  the  possible  exception  of  General  Arthur. 
Between  him  and  McKinley  feelings  of  positive  affection  existed, 
beginning  in  the  days  when  they  marched  and  fought  together 
and  growing  with  the  years  of  McKinley 's  political  advance 
ment.  Mr.  Roosevelt  had  been  associated  with  him  in  the  prison 
reform  movement;  and  Mr.  Taft  he  had  known  from  a  boy, 
being  present  at  his  marriage  with  the  daughter  of  his  old  friends, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  W.  Herron. 

The  men  most  closely  associated  with  him  in  the  Loyal  Legion, 
in  the  administration  of  the  Peabody  and  Slater  funds,  and  in 
the  prison  reform  work,  all  became  his  personal  friends.  This 
is  evident  not  only  from  Mr.  Hayes's  records  in  his  diary,  but 
from  the  tone  of  their  letters  to  him.  They  were  seldom  of  a 
purely  business  character.  It  is,  indeed,  quite  remarkable  how 
many  of  Mr.  Hayes's  friends,  more  especially,  of  course,  those 
who  had  known  him  longest  and  most  intimately,  wrote  him  in 
explicit  terms  of  affection,  such  as  men  are  chary  of  addressing 
to  one  another.  It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that  none  of  the  men  who 
knew  him  best  were  in  the  least  surprised  at  his  attainment  of 

1  He  visited  New  Orleans  soon  after  Mr.  Hayes  was  inaugurated  and  gave  the 
President  a  long  and  extremely  interesting  report,  as  the  result  of  his  observa 
tion,  on  the  political  conditions  of  Louisiana.  Mr.  Hayes  appointed  him  Minister 
to  Hawaii.  On  his  return  to  this  country  he  resumed  editorial  work  at  Toledo, 
where  he  died  a  few  years  later. 


GENERAL  WILLIAM  T.  SHERMAN  GENERAL  PHILIP   II.   SHERIDAN 

GENERAL  ULYSSES  S.   GRANT 
MAJOR-GENERAL  GEORGE  CROOK  MAJOR-GENERAL  WINFIELD  SCOTT  HANCOCK 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS  423 

the  highest  honors;  or  ever  had  any  doubt  regarding  his  merits 
and  abilities. 

In  the  wide  circle  of  his  women  friends,  apart  from  his  rela 
tives,  those  whom  he  found  most  congenial  and  sympathetic 
were  Mrs.  Herron  and  Mrs.  Davis,  of  Cincinnati,  Mrs.  L.  C. 
Austin  (the  wife  of  a  kinsman),  of  Cleveland,  and  Mrs.  A.  H. 
Miller,  of  Fremont.  These  were  all  women  of  unusual  grace  of 
personality  and  of  superior  intellectuality  and  refinement. 

Of  all  Mr.  Hayes's  friendship*  that  of  the  longest  duration 
was  the  one  formed  in  college  days  with  his  classmate,  Guy  M. 
Bryan,  of  Texas.  It  was  an  instance  of  the  strong  attraction  of 
opposites.  Mr.  Hayes  was  a  typical  Northerner;  Mr.  Bryan, 
a  typical  Southron.  Each  was  intensely  loyal  to  the  traditions 
of  his  section.  But  each  always  strove  to  understand  the  other's 
point  of  view  and  not  to  allow  his  judgment  to  be  swayed  by 
mere  prejudice.  Constant  correspondence  was  kept  up  between 
the  two  throughout  their  lives,  except  during  the  period  of  the 
war,  when  they  were  fighting  for  their  convictions  on  opposite 
sides.1  Soon  after  the  dawn  of  peace  they  found  each  other  again 
and  renewed  their  interchange  of  views.  Mr.  Bryan,  who  was 
a  Democratic  leader  in  his  State,  let  the  Texans  know  through 
the  press  his  high  estimate  of  Mr.  Hayes's  character  and  prin 
ciples  when  he  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency;  he  thought, 
indeed,  it  would  not  be  a  bad  idea  for  the  Democrats  to  second 
the  nomination  —  he  had  such  confidence  in  the  patriotic  pur 
poses  and  especially  the  good  intentions  of  his  friend  toward  the 
South.  It  is  very  probable  that  Mr.  Bryan's  letters,  which  were 
full  and  diffusive,  discussing  all  phases  of  the  Southern  question, 
the  condition  of  the  two  races  and  their  mutual  relations,  were 
among  the  influences  that  determined  Mr.  Hayes's  attitude  of 
mind  toward  all  things  Southern.  Mr.  Hayes's  letters  to  Bryan 
were  as  free  and  full  as  to  any  of  his  friends;  perhaps,  indeed, 

1  At  Camp  Green  Meadows,  West  Virginia,  July  18,  1862,  Colonel  Hayes 
wrote  in  his  diary:  "After  drill  a  fine  concert  of  the  glee  club  of  Company  A. 
As  they  sang  'That  Good  Old  Word  Good-bye '  I  thought  of  the  pleasant  circle 
that  used  to  sing  it  on  Gulf  Prairie,  Brazoria  Coast,  Texas.  And  now  so  broken. 
And  my  classmate  and  friend,  Guy  M.  Bryan  —  where  is  he?  In  the  Rebel 
army!  As  honorable  and  true  as  ever,  but  a  Rebel!  What  strange  and  sad  things 
this  war  produces!  But  he  is  true  and  patriotic  wherever  he  is.  Success  to  him 
personally!" 


424  RUTHERFORD   BIRCHARD   HAYES 

more  so,  because  of  their  early  intimacy.  Unfortunately  only 
a  few  of  them  are  preserved.  Most  of  them  were  swept 
away  when  Galveston  was  submerged  by  the  waters  of  the 
Gulf. 

Mr.  Hayes's  most  intimate  and  most  loyal  friend,  both  per 
sonal  and  political,  was  William  Henry  Smith.  Mr.  Smith  was 
born  in  New  York,  but  had  lived  in  Ohio  from  infancy,  and  felt 
himself  to  be  an  Ohio  man  in  every  fibre  of  his  being.  There  was 
pride  in  the  very  tone  with  which  he  uttered  the  name  of  the 
State,  and  any  person  who  professed  to  be  an  Ohioan  at  once 
commanded  his  interest.  He  was  a  man  of  large  intellectual 
powers  and  sympathies  and  of  very  wide  reading.  The  extent 
and  particularity  of  his  knowledge  of  American  history  and 
politics  were  a  constant  marvel  to  his  friends.  He  always  found 
time  for  his  books  and  for  literary  work,  however  exacting  and 
absorbing  his  business  cares  might  be.  With  his  keenness  of 
intellect,  his  alertness  in  action,  his  tireless  industry,  he  was 
generous  and  charitable  in  deed  and  word,  and  kept  unstained 
the  integrity  of  his  soul.  In  friendship  his  name  was  a  synonym 
of  loyalty  and  devotion.  He  was  making  his  mark  as  a  young 
newspaper  writer  at  Cincinnati  in  the  years  just  before  the  war, 
when  he  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  new  Republican  party. 
Similar  political  principles  and  similar  ideals  of  life  brought  him 
and  Mr.  Hayes  together.  They  learned  each  other's  qualities 
and  they  became  friends  for  life.  Mr.  Smith  was  twice  elected 
Secretary  of  State  of  Ohio.  Then  he  became  general  agent  of  the 
Western  Associated  Press,  with  offices  at  Chicago;  and,  some 
years  later,  general  manager  of  the  combined  Associated  Press  of 
the  country,  with  headquarters  at  New  York,  doing  more  than 
any  other  man  to  make  that  organization  the  greatest  news- 
collecting  and  distributing  agency  in  the  world.  He  had  unusual 
aptitude  for  political  effort;  almost  instinctive  apprehension  of 
political  forces,  and  wonderful  skill  and  tact  in  influencing  their 
direction.  It  was  he  who  first  set  people  of  Cincinnati  to  think 
ing  of  Hayes,  fighting  away  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  for  Con 
gress;  and  three  years  later  it  was  he  who  made  the  first  sugges 
tion  of  his  candidacy  for  Governor.  In  the  months  preceding 
the  national  Republican  convention  of  1876,  he  did  more  than 
any  one  else,  outside  of  Ohio,  to  prepare  the  way  for  Mr.  Hayes's 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS  425 

nomination  for  the  Presidency.  During  the  period  of  doubt  after 
the  election  he  was  steadily  engaged  in  helpful  efforts  to  reassure 
Southern  Democrats  of  Mr.  Hayes's  pacific  intentions.  All 
through  his  term  as  President,  Mr.  Hayes  often  consulted  him 
about  men  and  measures,  and  always  placed  great  reliance  on 
his  judgment  and  advice.  Mr.  Hayes  appointed  him  Collector 
of  the  Port  at  Chicago,  in  which  capacity  he  instituted  many 
reforms  in  the  revenue  service.  In  all  Mr.  Hayes's  later  years, 
he  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  Spiegel  Grove.  The  correspondence 
between  the  two  was  voluminous  and  characterized  on  both 
sides  with  the  utmost  frankness.  Never  did  a  false  statement 
about  Mr.  Hayes  appear  in  the  public  prints  that  Mr.  Smith  was 
not  quick  to  resent  it  and  to  seek  its  correction.  It  is  difficult 
to  recall  any  friendship  between  two  American  public  men, 
both  of  strong  and  positive  nature,  more  unselfish,  more  con 
stant,  of  longer  duration,  and  marked  with  greater  intimacy 
and  affection,  than  that  between  these  two  men.  It  speaks 
goldenly  for  the  high  and  fine  qualities  of  both  men.1 

Mr.  Hayes  was  not  a  great  orator.  He  lacked  the  ardent 
temperament,  the  glow  of  imagination,  the  easy  command  of  a 
rich  and  varied  vocabulary,  the  peculiar  sensitiveness  to  the 

1  Letters  and  diary  contain  frequent  references  to  Mr.  Hayes's  esteem  for 
Mr.  Smith.  Shortly  after  the  return  to  Spiegel  Grove  we  have  this  letter:  — 

SPIEGEL  GROVE,  FREMONT,  OHIO, 
29  March,  1881. 

MY  DEAR  S.,  —  I  step  out  of  the  dust  and  confusion  of  getting  into  orderly 
living  after  our  six  years'  absence,  to  ask,  "Are  you  happy?"  and  "Do  you  know 
anything?  "  With  us  time  passes  swiftly  and  pleasantly.  The  escape  from  bond 
age  into  freedom  is  grateful,  indeed,  to  my  feelings.  The  equanimity  of  temper 
which  has  enabled  me  to  bear  without  discomposure  the  vexations  and  anxieties 
that  every  day  brought  with  it,  during  my  term  of  office,  no  doubt  relieved  me 
from  a  great  part  of  the  strain  upon  the  faculties  which  has  broken  down  so 
many  of  my  predecessors.  But  the  burden,  even  with  my  constitutional  cheer 
fulness,  has  not  been  a  light  one.  I  am  glad  to  be  a  freed  man.  Now  a  word  to 
you.  My  obligations  to  you  I  do  not  attempt  to  measure  or  to  describe!  You 
were  at  the  cradle,  and  you  have  followed  the  hearse  "  of  this  ambitious  life." 
I  know  that  to  you  it  has  not  brought  the  reward  or  the  satisfaction  which  you 
deserved  to  have.  No  man  ever  had  a  more  sincere,  a  more  judicious,  and  a 
more  unselfish  friend  than  in  this  matter  I  have  found  in  you.  You  have  been 
generous,  considerate,  and  forgiving.  With  all  my  heart  I  thank  you,  and  beg 
you  to  believe  me  your  friend  ever.  —  Sincerely, 

R.  B.  HAYES. 

WILLIAM  HENRY  SMITH, 
CHICAGO,  ILL. 


426  RUTHERFORD   BIRCHARD   HAYES 

feelings  and  emotions  of  the  auditors,  which  the  great  orator 
must  possess.  He  was,  however,  an  admirable  public  speaker 
—  one  who  never  failed  to  interest  and  to  hold  the  attention  of 
his  hearers,  whatever  the  occasion  or  the  topic  of  his  discourse; 
and  he  was  an  especially  effective  campaign  speaker.  His  dig 
nity  of  manner  and  appearance  and  his  agreeable  voice  at  once 
created  a  favorable  impression.  In  his  political  speeches  he 
appealed  to  the  reason  and  judgment  of  his  hearers  rather  than 
to  their  passions  and  partisan  prejudices.  It  was  as  though  he 
said  to  his  auditors,  "Come,  let  us  reason  together."  Then  in  a 
familiar  manner  and  in  simple  language  he  would  lay  the  ground 
work  of  fact  and  principles  pertinent  to  the  topic  of  the  hour,  and 
on  this,  in  logical  sequence,  he  would  erect  the  superstructure  of 
his  argument.  His  controlling  purpose  was  not  to  stir  men's 
hearts,  but  by  the  calm  presentation  of  facts,  by  the  lucid  ex 
position  of  principles,  and  by  the  orderly  array  of  conclusions 
that  he  believed  flowed  necessarily  from  these  premises,  to  con 
vince  their  minds  and  bring  them  to  his  way  of  thinking.  How 
ever  vigorously  he  assailed  the  position  and  programme  of  the 
opposite  party  or  criticized  the  political  record  and  principles 
of  the  opposing  candidate,  he  carefully  avoided  personalities  or 
the  aspersion  of  motives  and  purposes;  and  he  never  allowed 
himself  to  be  influenced  by  a  consideration  of  the  religious  opin 
ions  of  candidates.  He  agreed  with  Burke  that  politics  and  the 
pulpit  should  be  kept  apart.  While  many  of  his  public  addresses 
were  written  out  beforehand  with  great  care,  and  ample  prep 
aration  was  made  for  all,  the  most  of  his  campaign  speeches 
and  of  his  speeches  on  patriotic  occasions,  at  old  soldier  gather 
ings,  and  the  like,  were  ex  tempore  in  their  language.  Not  in 
frequently  these  were  lightened  with  incidents  or  anecdotes  or 
humorous  allusions  to  illustrate  some  principle  or  to  drive  home 
an  argument.  The  written  speeches,  like  all  Mr.  Hayes's  writ 
ings,  are  admirable  for  the  clearness  and  precision  with  which 
the  thoughts  are  expressed,  and  for  the  skill  and  order  with 
which  the  arguments  are  marshalled.  It  was  these  things  for 
which  Mr.  Hayes  specially  strove.  He  admired  the  indefinable 
graces  of  style  which  like  an  atmosphere  pervade  the  writings 
of  the  masters  of  expression;  but  he  himself  never  made  great 
effort  to  attain  unto  them.  He  wrote  with  facility  and  with 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS  427 

correctness  and  propriety;1  and  there  is  never  any  misunder 
standing  of  his  meaning.  His  style,  however,  is  devoid  of 
particular  distinction,  and  phrases  of  marked  felicity  flowed 
infrequently  from  his  pen. 

Mr.  Hayes  was  an  excellent  presiding  officer  at  any  sort  of 
public  gathering,  board  meeting,  entertainment,  or  banquet. 
He  maintained  control  with  ease,  was  quick  to  allay  friction  and 
to  quiet  contention,  and  was  skilful  in  keeping  the  business  in 
hand  moving  forward  and  in  the  right  direction.  Wordy  disputes 
and  irrelevant  discussions  he  knew  how  to  check  with  gentle 
firmness,  and  embarrassing  incidents  that  might  easily  provoke 
bitterness  and  controversy  he  could  with  a  few  words  of  kindly 
deprecation  or  appeal  smooth  away  or  make  to  appear  insigni 
ficant.  He  had  a  happy  way  of  introducing  a  speaker  so  as  to 
give  him  a  sense  of  confidence  and  to  win  for  him  the  instant 
attention  of  the  assemblage. 

One  of  the  most  striking  qualities  of  Mr.  Hayes's  character 
was  his  attitude  toward  criticism,  misrepresentation,  and  malig 
nant  detraction.  He  respected  honest  difference  of  opinion  and 
was  grateful  for  legitimate  criticism.2  If  at  any  time  he  was  con 
vinced  thereby  that  he  had  been  at  fault  or  had  failed  to  take 
proper  action,  no  pride  of  opinion  or  dread  of  being  charged  with 
inconsistency  or  vacillation  prevented  him  from  making  due 
reparation.  He  was,  however,  so  well  assured  in  mind  of  the 
wisdom  and  correctness  of  all  the  great  policies  of  his  Adminis 
tration  that  he  refused  to  permit  the  censorious  clamor  of  dis 
approving  Republicans,  or  the  aspersions  and  denunciations  of 
Democratic  defamers,  to  shake  his  purposes  or  to  disturb  his 
equanimity.  He  kept  on  the  way  his  judgment  and  conscience 

1  The  purist  will  find  some  faults  to  criticize.  For  example,  like  most  Ameri 
cans  west  of  the  Alleghanies  and  in  the  South,  Mr.  Hayes  frequently  used  will 
and  would  when  shall  and  should  ought  to  have  been  written,  and  he  now  and 
then  "split"  his  infinitives. 

2  "Touching  my  birthday,  I  was  never  on  the  whole  happier  than  I  am  now. 
My  health,  and  that  of  my  wife  also,  is  very  good.   Our  elevation  has  not,  I  am 
sure,  turned  our  heads.  The  abuse  of  us,  and  the  honest  but  severe  criticism  do 
not  sour  us.   I  try  to  judge  fairly  as  to  what  is  said,  and  'to  improve'  all  just 
criticism.  My  Administration  is  no  doubt  stronger  than  ever  before.  The  appeal 
to  the  people  on  grounds  of  a  non-partisan  character  has  been  successful.  I  must 
in  the  future  be  more  and  more  careful  to  do  only  what  is  wise  and  right." 
(Diary,  October  5,  1878.) 


428  RUTHERFORD   BIRCHARD  HAYES 

approved  with  "amiable  obstinacy,"  to  use  a  phrase  often  ap 
plied  to  his  manner;  the  quality  Emerson  speaks  of  in  his  "Self- 
Reliance"  as  "good-humored  inflexibility."  He  refrained  per 
sistently,  both  while  President  and  during  all  his  later  years, 
from  making  any  public  defense  of  his  official  acts,1  however 
fiercely  they  were  attacked,  or  any  apology  for  the  policies  he 
sought  to  enforce,  or  any  correction  of  the  flood  of  misrepre 
sentations  and  positive  untruths  —  often  of  a  pettiness  and 
meanness  beyond  conception  —  which  conscienceless  news 
paper  maligners  continued  to  pour  forth.  He  knew  that  the 
motives  which  controlled  his  action  were  pure  and  patriotic  and 
unselfish,  and  he  believed  that  the  courses  he  pursued  were 
sound  and  wise.  He  was  entirely  willing  to  leave  his  acts  to 
speak  for  themselves  and  to  trust  to  the  judgment  of  the  future 
for  their  justification  and  proper  appreciation.  "The  loud  vocif 
erations"  of  the  time,  therefore,  he  ignored;  and  through  storms 
of  unmerited  execration  and  obloquy,  of  which  there  has  been 
no  parallel  in  all  the  many  instances  of  disgraceful  license  and 
intemperance  of  the  American  press,  he  refused  to  be  shaken 
from  his  determination  to  preserve  silence.  With  unyielding 
confidence  in  the  final  prevalence  of  truth,  he 

"Stood  serene  and  down  the  future  saw  the  golden  beam  incline 
To  the  side  of  perfect  justice." 

There  was  practical  good  sense  in  this  determination.  It  was 
useless  to  deny  falsehoods.  Their  authors  would  go  on  repeating 
them  or  would  invent  others.  And  it  was  a  hopeless  task  to 
correct  misrepresentations.  Moreover,  if  correction  or  denial 
were  made  in  any  particular  case,  it  would  be  assumed  by  the 
public  that  all  falsehoods  and  misrepresentations  that  were  not 
directly  corrected  or  denied  were  truthful  statements.  It  was 
better,  therefore,  to  keep  out  of  print  and  pay  no  heed  to  any 

1  This  had  been  his  habit  likewise  in  regard  to  attacks  on  his  conduct  as 
Governor.  In  writing  to  the  Honorable  John  F.  McKinney,  Piqua,  Ohio,  about 
some  article  in  the  Democrat  of  that  town,  on  June  5,  1871,  he  said:  "I  do  not 
wish  this  letter  published,  but  you  may  show  it  to  the  editor  of  the  Democrat,  if 
you  wish.  I  always  prefer  that  the  justification  of  my  official  acts  should  stand 
on  the  official  records,  and  not  on  my  arguments  in  their  defense.  If  a  public 
man  makes  an  honest  mistake,  it  is  safe  to  leave  it  with  an  intelligent  public, 
who  will  be  ready  to  appreciate  the  whole  affair  much  better  if  he  does  not  make 
too  much  fuss  about  it." 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS  429 

false  publications.  That  was  Mr.  Hayes's  reasoning  about  the 
matter.1  To  inquiries  addressed  to  him  concerning  evil  allega 
tions  against  himself,  he  would  reply  giving  the  truth  in  the 
case,  but  always  with  the  injunction  that  his  letter  was  not  to 
be  made  public;  and  in  a  few  instances  he  wrote  to  friendly 
editors  or  writers  of  articles  in  the  press  who  had  innocently 
been  misled  by  false  reports,  in  order  to  set  them  right,  insisting 
always,  however,  that  he  was  not  to  be  quoted.2  He  thought  it 
altogether  creditable  to  him  that  politicians  of  a  certain  type 3 
and  that  newspapers  like  the  New  York  Sun  spoke  ill  of  him.4 
He  would  have  felt  that  he  was  doomed  to  the  woe  pronounced 
by  the  Divine  Master  had  they  spoken  well  of  him.  How  he 

1  Writing,  May  26,  1885,  to  a  Buffalo  editor  who  had  asked  him  what  the 
truth  was  in  regard  to  some  current  calumny,  Mr.  Hayes,  after  giving  the  facts, 
said:  "As  to  the  use  of  my  name  or  authority,  I  do  not  deny  or  explain  untruths 
about  me.  The  reason  is  obvious.  If  I  did,  the  failure  to  deny  in  any  case  would 
be  an  admission  in  that  case  of  its  truth,  and  I  would  be  kept  busy  making  de 
nials.  I  give  you  the  facts  and  refer  you  to  General  Buckland  of  this  town.  You 
will,  therefore,  deal  with  the  matter  without  quoting  me  as  authority  and  thereby 
oblige." 

2  "I  do  not  notice,  nor  care  for  the  abuse  of  the  partisan  and  factional 
newspapers.  A  cipher  ally  or  an  ultra  Stalwart  organ  may  fling  squibs  at  me  and 
I  give  them  no  attention  —  not  a  second  thought.   It  is  according  to  the  logic 
of  the  situation.    But  when  I  saw  yesterday  in  the  Christian  Union  the  fling, 
'Great  Britain  has  an  income  of  $400,000,000,  and  yet  Queen  Victoria  is  as  poor 
as  Mr.  Hayes,'  I  was  vexed  and  felt  like  calling  the  attention  of  the  editor, 
Lyman  Abbott,  to  it.   The  squib  is  based  on  the  malicious  falsehood  that  I  re 
fused  on  the  score  of  poverty  to  make  a  subscription  to  the  fund  for  the  Garfield 
Monument.    The  slander  was  exploded  the  day  after  it  was  published,  and 
everybody  knows  that  in  fact  a  suitable  subscription  —  $250  —  was  made  cheer 
fully,  and  without  demur  on  the  ground  of  lack  of  means  or  otherwise.   Perhaps 
I  will  write  to  my  friend  and  kinsman  in  New  York,  Charles  L.  Mead,  and  ask 
him  to  give  the  facts  to  Mr.  Lyman  [Abbott]."    (Diary,  January  23,  1882.) 

3  "If  there  are  any  two  men  in  the  country  whose  opposition  and  hatred  are 
a  certificate  of  good  character  and  sound  statesmanship,  they  are  Conkling  and 
Butler.   I  enjoy  the  satisfaction  of  being  fully  endorsed  by  the  hatred  and  op 
position  of  both  of  these  men."    (Diary,  January  16,  1881.) 

4  "I  am  still  honored  with  the  hatred  and  persistent  attacks  of  the  New  York 
Sun,  the  Philadelphia  Times,  H.  J.  Ransdell,  and  a  small  number  of  followers 
in  various  parts  of  the  country.  A  few  are  Democrats.   More  of  them  are  malig 
nant  Stalwarts.   Their  course  proves  that  a  good  deal  was  done  during  my  Ad 
ministration  which  was  worthy  of  admiration.    I  am  at  a  loss  to  say  what  act 
gives  me  most  claim  on  their  attention.  With  some  it  is  temperance  at  the  White 
House,  with  some  it  is  fair  and  wise  dealing  with  the  South,  and  with  more  it  is 
my  blows  at  the  patronage  of  the  bosses.   Mr.  Lincoln  is  reported  to  have  said 
of  certain  assaults  on  himself,  '  It  seems  to  be  a  comfort  to  them  and  does  n't 
hurt  me.'"   (Diary,  October  23,  1881.) 


430  RUTHERFORD   BIRCHARD   HAYES 

regarded  their  attacks  is  shown  by  a  letter  of  February  2,  1882, 
to  his  old  Texan  friend,  Guy  M.  Bryan,  who  was  troubled  at 
their  continuance.  Mr.  Hayes  wrote :  — 

I  am  rather  gratified  by  the  criticisms  you  allude  to.  They  call  atten 
tion  to  what  must,  I  think,  be  written  down  a  very  fortunate  and  suc 
cessful  Administration.  It  found  our  financial  affairs  in  wretched  con 
dition  —  with  a  plan  of  relief  in  every  mouth,  and  predictions  of  failure 
and  ruin  if  the  Administration  followed  the  course  to  which  it  was 
pledged.  In  the  face  of  opposition  and  unpopularity  rarely  equalled,  it 
adhered  to  its  own  line  of  policy  and  left  the  finances  of  our  Government 
the  wonder  and  envy  of  all  the  world. 

It  found  laborers  out  of  work,  uneasy,  in  want,  and  riotous,  and  it 
left  them  fully  employed  at  good  wages,  and  contented,  hopeful,  and 
happy. 

It  found  the  sectional  and  race  bitterness  dangerous  and  increasing, 
and  it  left  it  with  the  people  of  all  sections  and  races  more  harmonious 
and  united  than  ever  before. 

More  than  all,  these  results  were  reached  by  measures  and  a  policy 
which  were  strenuously  opposed  in  whole  or  in  part  by  most  of  the 
powerful  leaders  of  both  political  parties. 

By  the  reformation  in  the  great  offices  in  New  York,  the  spoils  sys 
tem  was  uprooted  where  it  was  strongest,  and  a  demonstration  afforded 
to  the  American  people  that  a  non-partisan  civil  service  on  business 
principles  is  entirely  practicable. 

I  am  pursued  personally  by  the  organs  of  two  factions  —  each  a  mi 
nority  faction  —  in  the  opposing  parties.  The  ultra  supporters  of  Tilden 
for  next  President,  in  order  to  keep  alive  "the  fraud  issue"  for  his  bene 
fit,  let  no  chance  for  calumny  go  unimproved.  But  the  better  brethren 
of  the  Democratic  party  have  no  hand  in  this.  They  follow  Hancock, 
Bayard,  Pendleton,  McDonald,  Lamar,  Stephens,  Hampton,  Gordon, 
Gibson,  Bailey,  Colquitt,  etc.,  etc.  In  my  own  party  the  organs  of  the 
ultra  Stalwarts  —  Butler,  Conkling.  etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  —  are,  if  possible, 
still  more  bitter.  The  death  of  Garfield  turns  their  batteries  on  me. 
The  blows  which  he  would  receive,  if  living,  I  now  get.  But  it  does  not 
injure  me  or  my  Administration.  A  mere  nothing  —  a  King  Log  — • 
a  dead  level,  never  attracts  so  much  attention.  Hence  the  satisfaction 
I  find  in  this  stream  of  obloquy.  It  means  that  their  political  system  — 
the  spoils  system  and  boss  system  united  into  one  —  has  been  sorely 
wounded.  "But  something  too  much  of  this." 

It  is,  however,  a  vast  discredit  to  American  popular  intelli 
gence  that  the  trivial  and  senseless  maundering  of  the  Sun  and 
its  imitators  of  the  press,  about  the  chickens  at  Spiegel  Grove, 

—  kept  up  for  years,  until  a  veritable  mythology  was  created, 

—  should  have  made  any  impression  on  the  public  mind.     In 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS  431 

its  insane  hatred  the  Sun  sought  to  make  it  appear  that  the 
principal  occupation  of  the  man,  who,  since  leaving  the  White 
House,  was  giving  all  his  time  and  energy  to  the  disinterested 
furtherance  of  the  worthiest  causes,  was  chicken-raising.  The 
persistency  with  which  it  paraded  its  malignant  fabrications  on 
this  score,  aided  by  the  silly  patter  of  shallow  newspaper  para- 
graphers,  did  have  its  effect  on  the  public  mind,  constantly 
assailed  as  it  was  by  the  "damnable  iteration."  Even  to  this 
day  the  effect  has  not  entirely  disappeared.  An  eminent  and 
worthy  Republican  leader,  who  had  been  the  candidate  for 
Governor  of  one  of  the  greatest  States  of  the  Union,  amazed 
the  author,  as  he  was  about  to  begin  the  writing  of  this  chapter, 
with  a  humiliating  confession  of  his  acceptance  of  the  base  and 
baseless  fiction  of  the  Sun.  Mr.  Hayes  himself  treated  the  whole 
incident,  like  everything  emanating  from  the  same  source,  with 
good-natured  and  contemptuous  disregard. 

On  the  other  hand,  he  was  gratified  when  friendly  words  were 
said  of  him,1  and  he  was  greatly  pleased  in  the  last  years  of  his 
life  to  feel  assured  that  the  current  of  popular  recognition  was 
turning  more  strongly  in  his  favor;  that  the  efforts  of  his  de 
tractors  were  for  the  most  part  growing  feebler  and  being  met 

1  "In  Captain  John  G.  Bourke's  new  book,  On  the  Border  with  Crook,  under 
date  of  June  23, 1876,  page  321,  he  tells  how  Lieutenant  Schuyler,  Fifth  Cavalry, 
made  the  trip  out  to  Crook  from  Fort  Fetterman  in  four  days  to  Crook's  com 
mand  with  two  couriers  who  brought  the  mail  with  news,  among  other  facts  of 
interest,  'That  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  of  Ohio,  had  been  nominated  by  the  Re 
publicans  for  the  Presidency.  General  Hayes  had  commanded  a  brigade  under 
Crook  in  the  Army  of  West  Virginia  during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  Crook 
spoke  of  his  former  subordinate  in  the  warmest  and  most  affectionate  manner, 
instancing  several  battles  in  which  Hayes  had  displayed  exceptional  courage  and 
proved  himself  to  be,  to  use  Crook's  words,  "as  brave  a  man  as  ever  wore  a 
shoulderstrap. " ' 

"I  very  early  in  my  political  career  learned  to  estimate  at  its  true  value  the 
censure,  abuse,  and  ridicule  which  follow  all  men  who  are  prominent  in  public 
life.  It  is  so  common,  so  destitute  of  truth,  and  so  meaningless,  so  far  from  the 
true  opinions  and  feelings  of  those  who  utter  it,  that  it  ought  not  to  seriously 
affect  those  upon  whom  it  is  poured  out.  This  I  saw  and  appreciated  and  I  soon 
found  philosophy  enough  in  my  composition  in  a  great  measure  to  disregard  it. 
Indeed,  I  suppose  few  public  men  ever  regard  such  abuse  with  less  feeling  than  I 
do.  At  the  same  time  I  must  confess  that  flattery,  good  words  from  the  right 
quarter,  'Aaron's  beard,'  as  Lucy  habitually  called  it,  is  as  sweet  to  me  as  to 
others.  Especially  is  this  so  if  I  fancy  it  is  deserved,  is  warranted  by  truth,  and 
if  it  comes  from  a  man  of  so  few  words,  so  ungushing  as  Crook  was."  (Diary, 
October  28,  1891.) 


432  RUTHERFORD   BIRCHARD   HAYES 

with  wider  and  more  vigorous  counteraction.  The  popular 
demonstrations  which  greeted  his  appearance  on  every  public 
occasion  that  he  honored  with  his  presence  in  the  last  months  of 
his  life  touched  his  heart  with  deep  and  grateful  emotion.  Time 
was  already  setting  things  right  and  he  was  coming  to  his  own. 
There  is  abundant  evidence  in  the  diary1  of  the  gratification  he 
felt  at  the  change  in  public  sentiment;  and  the  Reverend  F.  H. 
Wines,  in  the  address  from  which  quotation  was  made  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  gives  testimony  to  the  same  effect.  He 
uses  this  language: — 

Not  even  to  his  own  children  would  he  utter  a  word  in  his  own  de 
fense.  He  died  and  he  made  no  sign.  And  yet  I  know  that  he  was  not 
indifferent  to  public  opinion  nor  insensible  to  neglect.  At  one  of  our 
meetings  he  was  invited  to  a  camp-fire,  where  he  alluded  to  the  recent 
loss  of  his  wife  and  to  her  virtues  in  a  way  which  melted  all  who  heard 
him  to  tears.  Some  one  who  heard  him  speak  on  that  occasion  said  en 
thusiastically  that  he  meant  to  vote  for  Hayes  at  every  election  there 
after  as  long  as  they  both  lived.  The  next  morning  at  breakfast  I 
quoted  this  friendly  outburst  to  the  President;  and  turning  his  head  in 
a  way  peculiar  to  himself,  but  which  you  must  all  remember,  he  said, 
in  a  low  tone,  full  of  pathos,  and  in  a  hesitating  manner,  "I  think  —  the 
tide  is  beginning  to  turn  —  a  little  —  in  my  favor. " 

Mr.  Hayes  maintained  throughout  life  his  early  love  of  books 
and  reading.  In  his  later  years  he  read  all  that  he  could  lay  his 
hands  on  relating  to  the  reform  work  and  the  phases  of  educa 
tion  in  which  he  was  most  interested;  and  the  books  and  maga 
zine  articles  discussing  the  new  social  questions  that  were  com 
ing  into  prominence.2  His  particular  field  of  study  was  American 
history  and  biography,  and  he  was  especially  interested  in  every 
thing  that  threw  light  on  the  settlement  and  progress  of  Ohio. 
It  was  his  interest  in  these  subjects  that  led  him  to  purchase, 
in  the  early  seventies,  the  collection  of  Americana  made  by 
Robert  Clarke,  the  well-known  publisher  of  Cincinnati.  This 

1  For  example:  "An  abundance  of  friendly  comment  comes  to  me  these  days. 
The  stream  of  abuse  has  gone  by.  The  reaction  is  coming.  The  pendulum  seems 
to  swing  to  the  other  extreme.  Lucy  was  more  hurt  by  calumny  than  I  ever  was. 
She  cared  no  more  for  praise,  perhaps  less,  than  I  do;  but  slander  gave  her  far 
more  pain.  I  was  confident  always  that  in  ten  years  or  more  the  judgment  of  our 
acts  and  character  would  be  more  friendly."    (Diary,  January  5,  1892.) 

2  He  spoke  of  himself,  in  a  letter  of  1890,  as  "a  radical  in  thought  and  prin 
ciple  —  a  conservative  in  method  and  action,"  borrowing  the  sentiment  and 
language  from  some  source  that  he  did  not  recall. 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS  433 

contains  some  six  thousand  volumes  and  is  rich  in  books  of 
pioneer  history,  exploration,  and  early  travels,  biographies,  and 
genealogical  lore.  In  general  literature  Mr.  Hayes's  tastes 
were  wide  and  catholic.  During  his  life  he  gathered  about  him 
the  English  and  American  classics,  and  translations  of  the 
masterpieces  of  other  tongues,  to  the  number  of  several  thou 
sand  volumes;  and  to  these  he  constantly  returned  for  joy  and 
refreshment.  He  read  sparingly  and  only  the  best  of  the  more 
recent  writers  of  his  day.  Of  these  Howells,  who  was  a  close 
friend,  pleased  him  most.  In  the  very  last  year  of  his  life  he 
resolved  to  pursue  the  Chautauqua  course  of  reading,  the  com 
pletion  of  which  would  require  years;  and  set  apart  regular 
hours  to  the  undertaking  whenever  he  was  at  home.1  His  favorite 
prose  writers  to  the  last  were  Emerson,  Hawthorne,  Lincoln, 
and  Scott;  the  poets  who  gave  him  most  pleasure  in  his  later 
years  were  Byron,  Browning,  and  Edwin  Arnold.  Emerson 
stood  foremost  of  all  authors  in  his  affection,  and  to  him  he  went 
most  frequently  for  spiritual  encouragement  and  cheer.  Mrs. 
Herron,  with  two  of  her  daughters,  spent  some  weeks  at  Spiegel 
Grove  soon  after  Mrs.  Hayes's  death.  During  this  visit  Mr. 
Hayes  and  Mrs.  Herron  read  much  together,  and  after  her  re 
turn  home  they  entered  on  a  course  of  reading  of  Emerson,  com 
paring  in  letters  to  each  other  their  impressions  of  various  essays 
and  their  estimate  of  Emerson's  distinctive  message  to  the 
world.  The  main  ends  in  view  in  such  reading,  he  thought,  were 
"mental  improvement  —  for  information  —  to  keep  the  facul 
ties  alert  and  alive";  and,  more  important  still,  preparation 
"for  the  inevitable,  to  be  content  at  least  for  the  time  and  also 
in  view  of  the  future";  in  a  word,  "to  develop  and  strengthen 
character."  The  end  most  essential  was  the  last  —  "to  be  really 
fit  for  the  present  and  ready  for  the  future."  And  what  author 
offered  more  to  this  purpose  than  Emerscn?  "He  deals,  as  I 
think,  wisely  with  the  deep  questions,  with  God,  the  soul,  our 
present  and  our  future  well-being."  "'Rest  and  content,'  and 
to  be  '  lifted  above  trifles '  —  is  not  this  all  that  is  best  in  religion, 

1  "At  the  close  of  my  seventieth  year  I  join  the  Chautauqua  class  of  1896 
—  not  at  all  confident  that  I  shall  live  to  complete  it,  but  with  two  notions  in 
my  thinking  about  it.  It  may  be  useful  as  an  example  to  others.  Let  education 
continue  to  the  end  of  life.  I  find  I  gain  by  practice  in  writing  the  remarks  and 
speeches  I  am  constantly  making."  (Diary,  September  4,  1892.) 


434  RUTHERFORD   BIRCHARD   HAYES 

whether  natural  or  supernatural?"  "How  Emerson  prepares 
one  to  meet  the  disappointments  and  griefs  of  this  mortal  life! 
His  writings,  with  me,  seem  to  be  religion.  They  bring  peace, 
consolation;  that  rest  for  the  mind  and  heart  which  we  all  long 
for  —  content."  These  quotations  are  taken  from  different 
letters  to  Mrs.  Herron.  One  letter  (December  5,  1889)  may  be 
given  almost  in  full:  — 

Your  letter  on  the  essay  of  Emerson  was  to  the  point  and  set  me  to 
reading.  Having  given  to  "Immortality  "  a  second  hearing,  I  was  ready 
to  reply.  But  alas !  all  sorts  of  claims  came  down  on  me.  I  spent  Thanks 
giving  at  Birchard's.  While  there  I  got  hold  of  Edwin  Arnold's  "Light 
of  Asia."  Instantly  I  was  switched  off  into  Buddhism.  I  read  all  of  the 
notes.  Some  touched  on  our  question.  I  was  greatly  attracted.  Now 
I  am  mixed.  But  I  must  begin. 

There  is  nothing  consecutive  in  Emerson.  He  is  often  obscure. 
Sometimes,  perhaps,  —  precious  confession,  —  unmeaning.  He  will 
not  change  our  faith;  he  will  not  lead  us  to  any  faith.  But  I  insist  that 
we  shall  be  more  and  more  content  with  God,  with  the  future,  with  this 
whole  bow-wow.  We  shall  have  more  charity  for  others'  errors.  We 
shall  have  fewer  errors  of  our  own.  Therefore  let  us  read  him. 

I  have  gone  next  to  "Inspiration."  But  you  will  ask  me,  Are  you 
done  with  immortality?  Yes,  for  now.  We  can  return  to  it.  Wrhat  are 
the  results  so  far?  I  am  sure  you  have  them  all.  There  is  no  assurance 
of  the  great  fact  in  question.  All  the  arguments  are  mere  probabilities, 
analogies,  fancies,  whims.  We  believe  or  disbelieve,  or  are  in  doubt, 
according  to  our  make-up,  to  accidents,  to  education,  to  environment. 
For  myself  I  do  not  reach  either  faith  or  belief  in  the  fact  in  its  true 
sense,  namely,  that  7  —  the  conscious  person  talking  to  you  —  will 
meet  you  in  the  world  beyond;  you  being  yourself  a  conscious  person  — 
the  same  person  now  reading  what  I  say. 

Do  you  ask,  What  have  we  gained?  Not  much,  I  admit.  But  it  is 
something  to  know,  that,  with  the  best  mind  of  our  time  and  race,  we 
do  not  know.  I  confess  that  I  have  "a  longing  after  immortality,"  in 
the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word.  But  I  am  far  more  content  with  what 
ever  may  come  since  I  have  read  Emerson's  calm,  quiet,  self-satisfied 
way  of  dealing  with  the  deepest  questions.  It  is  something  to  trust  God. 

Now  shall  we  try  "  Inspiration  "?  You  sit  at  the  helm.  Choose  as  you 
are  inclined.  I  will  insist  that  the  more  we  read  of  Emerson,  the  better 
we  will  like  him  —  the  wiser  we  will  be  —  the  better  we  will  find  our 
selves;  and  by  consequence  (if  anything  is  consequence)  the  happier. 
Which  is  one  of  the  aims;  the  chief  aim  being  to  become  better,  to  get 
character.1 

1  The  following  comment  on  Lowell  in  contrast  with  Emerson  is  interest 
ing:  "I  have  been  reading  Lowell's  prose.  Pungent,  witty,  sound;  too  fond  of 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS  435 

And  Mr.  Hayes  did  trust  God.  He  came  of  a  long  line  of 
godly  ancestors.  His  mother,  who  was  a  faithful  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  was  a  woman  of  fervent  piety,  who  saw 
in  every  event  of  life,  public  or  private,  either  evidence  of  God's 
favor  or  a  judgment  of  Divine  wrath  on  the  wickedness  of  men. 
He  was  nurtured  in  the  fear  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  His 
college  teachers  at  Kenyon  were  Christian  gentlemen  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  and  the  life  of  the  college  and  the  college 
town  was  permeated  with  the  Christian  spirit.  Mr.  Hayes  was 
conversant  with  the  Bible  from  early  youth  and  accepted  the 
fundamental  principles  of  religion  which  it  inculcates  and  en 
forces.  He  was  throughout  life  a  regular  churchgoer,  never 
failing  to  attend  Sunday  service  unless  some  imperative  neces 
sity  intervened;  always  after  his  marriage  going  to  the  Methodist 
Church,  of  which  Mrs.  Hayes  was  a  communicant,  and  giving 
it  liberal  support.  While  he  felt  himself  to  be  a  Christian  in  all 
essential  respects,  he  never  united  with  any  church.  There  were 
declarations  of  belief  in  the  orthodox  creeds  that  he  could  not 
conscientiously  make.  But  he  had  no  doubt  of  the  Divine  gov 
ernance  of  the  world;  no  doubt  of  the  overruling  of  a  wise  and 
beneficent  Providence  in  the  affairs  of  mankind;  no  doubt  that 
each  individual  was  in  some  sort,  according  to  his  place  and  sta 
tion  in  life,  an  instrument  in  carrying  forward  the  eternal  pur 
poses,  and  so  should  have  an  abiding  sense  of  his  obligation  to 
live  "as  ever  in  his  great  Taskmaster's  eye."  Repeatedly  in 
official  documents,  in  public  addresses,1  in  letters,  and  in  his 

classical  and  other  learned  allusions;  retains  in  form  the  old  faiths,  and  is  al 
ways  interesting.  Not  lofty  nor  inspired  like  Emerson;  not  satisfying;  does  not 
leave  one  resting  and  contented;  but  still  one  of  the  better  brethren."  (From 
letter  (February  8,  1892)  to  Mrs.  Herron.) 

1  For  example,  at  Weirs,  New  Hampshire,  August  22,  1877,  replying  to  the 
address  which  welcomed  him  and  his  party  to  the  camp-meeting  there  in  prog 
ress,  he  said:  "I  wish  to  assure  you  that  this  kind  welcome  gives  me  very  great 
gratification.  We  do  not,  I  am  sure,  mistake  its  meaning.  You  are  interested 
in  me  and  those  with  me  because  of  the  great  trust  which,  under  the  Constitu 
tion  and  laws,  has  devolved  upon  us.  You  believe  with  Lincoln  that  in  the  per 
formance  of  his  duties  the  only  safe  reliance  for  your  Chief  Magistrate  is  that 
Divine  assistance  without  which  he  cannot  succeed  and  with  which  he  cannot 
fail.  My  earnest  desire  is,  my  prayer  is,  that  in  every  difficult  and  grave  emer 
gency  I  may  be  so  guided  that  all  good  citizens  can  approve  the  measures  that 
may  be  adopted,  and  that  all  may  conscientiously  pray  for  their  complete  sue- 


436  RUTHERFORD   BIRCHARD   HAYES 

diary  he  gave  expression  to  his  sense  of  dependence  on  the 
Divine  favor.  These  various  expressions  have  the  tone  of  utter 
sincerity,  never  striking  one  as  forced  or  conventional  phrases. 
In  his  inaugural  address  on  first  becoming  Governor  of  Ohio, 
he  expressed  the  hope  that  all  might  be  done  under  the  guidance 
of  Providence.  In  his  letter  of  acceptance  of  the  Presidential 
nomination,  in  his  inaugural  address,  and  in  every  one  of  his 
annual  messages  to  Congress,  he  expressed  "devout  gratitude 
to  the  Giver  of  all  good,"  or  invoked  "the  guidance  of  that 
Divine  Hand  by  which  the  destinies  of  nations  and  individuals 
are  shaped." 

The  Reverend  Washington  Gladden  said,  in  the  discourse 
from  which  quotation  has  already  been  made :  — 

I  do  not  know  that  he  formulated  for  himself  any  creed;  he  was  con 
tent,  probably,  with  a  very  short  statement  of  some  of  the  fundamental 
truths  of  religion.  He  was  profoundly  interested  in  the  truth  which 
constitutes  the  heart  of  all  faiths.  .  .  .  He  asked  me,  not  long  ago,  if  I 
knew  a  certain  minister  of  our  communion.  I  replied  that  I  had  known 
him  from  his  seminary  days.  "Well,"  he  said,  "I  heard  him  preach 
last  Sunday  at  Brattleboro,  Vermont.  You  know,"  he  added,  with  a 
humorous  twinkle,  "we  always  think  that  a  man  who  agrees  with  us 
is  an  able  man.  But  the  text  of  this  sermon  was  a  striking  one:  'The 
second  is  like  unto  it.'  That  was  all  there  was  of  the  text;  but  it  was 
enough,  I  assure  you,  to  furnish  the  foundation  of  a  very  strong  dis 
course." 

I  could  easily  believe  it.  "The  second  is  like  unto  it"  —  equal  to  it. 
It  is  what  our  Master  says  about  the  second  great  commandment  of 
the  law.  The  first  great  commandment  is  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart";  the  second  is  like  unto  it  —  equally  bind 
ing,  equally  fundamental,  equally  religious  —  "Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself."  The  fact  that  had  made  its  impression  upon  the 
President's  mind  was  the  equivalence  of  these  commandments.  That 
indicated  his  hearty  recognition  of  both  of  them.  But  I  suppose  if  he 
had  been  challenged  to  confess  his  faith,  it  would  have  been  uttered  in 
the  words  of  the  beloved  apostle,  "He  that  loveth  not  his  brother  whom 
he  hath  seen,  how  can  he  love  God  whom  he  hath  not  seen?"  And  if  the 
word  of  that  apostle  is  true  —  that  "every  one  who  loveth  is  begotten 
of  God  and  knoweth  God"  —  then  the  unselfish  ministry  of  the  last 
ten  years  would  prove  that  the  first  great  commandment  was  also  the 
law  of  his  life. 

In  a  letter  to  his  cousin,  Mrs.  Mary  M.  Fitch,  the  wife  of  a 
missionary  at  Shanghai,  a  few  months  before  his  death,  Mr. 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS  437 

Hayes  did  come  near  defining  his  creed:  "The  teachings  of 
Christ,  meaning  his  words  as  interpreted  by  Himself  in  his  life 
and  deeds,  are  in  truth  the  way  of  salvation.  Wishing  and  striv 
ing  to  do  this  [to  accept  Christ's  teachings  as  just  defined]  I 
know  I  am  safe."  l  Moreover,  in  his  diary  (May  17,  1890),  we 
have  this  confession:  "I  am  not  a  subscriber  to  any  creed.  I 
belong  to  no  church.  But  in  a  sense  satisfactory  to  myself  and 
believed  by  me  to  be  important,  I  try  to  be  a  Christian,  or 
rather  I  want  to  be  a  Christian  and  to  help  do  Christian  work." 

And  finally,  on  the  very  Sunday  before  the  fatal  seizure  fell 
upon  him,  we  have  this  declaration:  "I  am  a  Christian,  ac 
cording  to  my  conscience,  in  belief,  not,  of  course,  in  character 
and  conduct,  but  in  purpose  and  wish;  not,  of  course,  by  the 
orthodox  standard.  But  I  am  content  and  have  a  feeling  of 
trust  and  safety." 

These  words  of  assurance  and  the  sentence  of  aspiration 
written  the  folio  whig  morning,  "Let  me  be  pure  and  wise  and 
kind  and  true  in  all  things,"  —  the  last  significant  entries  in  the 
diary,  —  are  very  noble  revelations  of  his  inmost  life,  of  its  at 
titude  toward  the  eternal  mystery,  of  its  desire  for  the  supreme 
excellencies  of  character,  for  a  man  to  leave  behind  as  his  last 
utterances  on  the  issues  of  life  and  death.  They  reflect  the  spirit 
which  throughout  his  life,  of  unusually  varied  activities  and  of 
many  and  grave  responsibilities,  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  had 
wished  to  inform  his  conscience  and  to  control  his  conduct. 

The  longer  the  writer  has  busied  himself  with  the  career  of 
Mr.  Hayes,  the  more  intimately  he  has  studied  and  felt  the  in 
fluence  of  his  serene,  lofty,  and  well-rounded  character,  the 
worthier  they  seem  to  him  of  admiration  and  emulation.  Mr. 
Hayes  seems  to  him  to  have  been  an  American  of  the  finest  type; 
in  the  quality  of  his  ancestry,  in  his  home  surroundings  and  early 

1  Mr.  Hayes  was  much  impressed  by  the  closing  declaration  of  Charles 
Dickens's  will:  "I  commit  my  soul  to  the  mercy  of  God  through  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  and  I  exhort  my  dear  children  humbly  to  try  to  guide 
themselves  by  the  teachings  of  the  New  Testament  in  its  broad  spirit,  and  to 
put  no  faith  in  any  man's  narrow  construction  of  its  letter  here  or  there."  These 
words,  he  wrote  in  his  diary  (March  13,  1892),  expressed  his  own  sentiment,  and 
he  commended  them  to  his  children,  along  with  Dean  Stanley's  lofty  and  broad- 
minded  Dickens  funeral  sermon. 


438  RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

influences,  in  his  education,  in  his  deliberate  self-discipline  and 
constant  striving  to  establish  and  ennoble  his  character;  in  his 
patriotism  and  high  courage,  alike  on  the  battlefield  and  as  Chief 
Magistrate;  in  the  readiness  and  thoroughness  with  which  he 
accepted  and  performed  whatever  tasks  were  laid  upon  him;  in 
his  devotion  to  duty  and  his  public  spirit  and  philanthropy;  in 
his  modesty  and  dignity  of  demeanor;  in  the  sobriety  and  mod 
eration  of  his  life;  in  the  simplicity  and  beauty  of  his  domestic 
relations  and  his  friendships;  in  his  ardor  for  the  highest  and  best 
outgivings  of  the  human  spirit;  in  his  acknowledgment  of,  and 
sense  of  dependence  upon,  an  overruling  and  guiding  Provi 
dence;  in  his  practical  exemplification  in  all  the  relations  of  life 
of  the  Christian  virtues.  Of  him,  if  of  any  one,  it  can  be  said :  — 

"He  was  a  verray  perfight  gentil  knight.'* 


THE  END 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 

SPIEGEL  GROVE 

LUCY    ELLIOT   KEELER 

SPIEGEL  Grove,  the  homestead  of  President  Hayes,  the  beautiful 
twenty-five  acre  grove  of  native  American  trees,  is  a  portion  of  the  his 
toric  site  of  the  free  cities  of  the  Neutral  Nation  of  the  Eries,  who  three 
centuries  ago  built  two  fortified  towns  on  opposite  sides  of  the  Sandusky 
River  at  its  lower  falls.  The  site  of  these  towns  was  on  the  great  nat 
ural  runway  used  by  the  earliest  recorded  Indians  and  their  allies,  the 
French  explorers  and  missionaries,  in  passing  from  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi.  This  "Old  French 
and  Indian  Trail,"  later  called  "the  Harrison  Trail  of  the  War  of 
1812,"  was  along  the  western  bank  of  the  Sandusky-Scioto  Waterway 
from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio  River.  It  extended  for  over  half  a  mile 
through  Spiegel  Grove. 

The  house  at  Spiegel  Grove  was  begun  by  Sardis  Birchard  in  1859 
for  the  permanent  home  of  his  nephew  and  ward,  Rutherford  B. 
Hayes.  Owing  to  his  services  in  the  army,  in  Congress,  and  as  Gov 
ernor  of  Ohio,  Mr.  Hayes  did  not  occupy  it  till  1873.  Mr.  Birchard 
himself  lived  there  until  that  time,  enjoying  frequent  visits  from  his 
nephew  and  from  the  latter's  wife  and  young  children. 

The  original  house  was  a  brick  structure,  two  and  a  half  stories  high, 
surrounded  on  three  sides  by  a  verandah;  but  in  1880,  preparatory  to 
his  return  from  the  White  House,  President  Hayes  built  a  substantial 
addition  on  the  north,  duplicating  the  original  gabled  brick  front  of  the 
house,  and  materially  remodelling  the  interior.  In  1889  further  exten 
sive  changes  were  made,  at  which  time  the  present  large  dining-room, 
kitchens,  and  several  upper  chambers  were  added.  This  date  remains 
memorable  in  the  family  because,  before  the  alterations  were  finished, 
the  beautiful  mistress  of  the  house,  who  had  looked  forward  eagerly  to 
the  larger  opportunities  for  hospitality,  was  stricken  and  died. 

Two  rooms  of  the  original  house  remain  intact,  the  Red  Parlor  on  the 
first  floor,  and  the  Birchard  Room  directly  above  it,  which  had  been  Mr. 
Birchard's  bedchamber.  The  house  has  high  ceilings,  spacious  rooms 
with  hardwood  floors,  and  many  open  fireplaces.  A  verandah  eighty 
feet  long  and  fourteen  feet  wide,  so  arranged  as  to  make  thirty-three 
laps  to  the  mile,  extends  in  front  of  the  whole  house.  From  the  centre 


442  APPENDIX 

of  the  large  entrance  hall  one  can  look  up  four  stories  to  the  observatory, 
the  upper  halls  forming  balconies  opposite  the  stairways.  To  the  left 
of  the  front  door  as  you  enter  hangs  the  portrait  of  Sardis  Birchard,  to 
the  right,  that  of  his  sister,  Sophia  Birchard  Hayes,  the  mother  of  the 
President.  The  two  archways  opening  from  the  hall  are  draped  with 
the  regimental  flags  of  Colonel  Webb  C.  Hayes  in  the  war  with  Spain 
and  in  the  Philippine  insurrection,  taking  the  place  long  filled  by  his 
father's  regimental  flags  of  forty  years  earlier,  which  are  now  carefully 
preserved  in  glass  cases.  On  the  third  archway  hang  the  "grandfathers' 
guns"  of  the  War  of  1812,  being  the  old  flintlocks  used  by  Rutherford 
Hayes,  of  Vermont,  and  James  Webb,  of  Kentucky.  Beneath  these, 
glass  cases  contain  the  side-arms  used  by  General  Hayes  during  the 
War  for  the  Union;  and  those  used  by  Colonel  Hayes  in  the  war  with 
Spain,  in  the  Philippines,  and  in  China.  A  silver  plate,  presented  to  Mrs. 
Hayes  by  the  soldiers  of  the  Twenty-third  Regiment,  O.V.I.,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  silver  wedding  celebration  at  the  White  House,  hangs  by 
the  parlor  entrance.  It  is  engraved  with  a  design  of  the  log  cabin  in 
which  Mrs.  Hayes  lived  with  her  husband  for  two  winters  in  camp  in 
Virginia,  and  with  verses  inscribed  to  "Our  Mother."  The  large  front 
hallway  is  further  furnished  with  an  old-fashioned  fireplace,  and  a 
handsome  dark,  carved  Chinese  settle. 

The  drawing-room,  opening  to  the  right  of  the  hall,  is  thirty-six  feet 
long  and  is  connected  by  an  open  archway  with  a  library  of  the  same 
length,  where  for  many  years  was  stored  the  fine  historical  library  of 
President  Hayes.  This  room  preserves  an  atmosphere  of  homelike- 
ness  and  comfort  and  is  indicative  of  the  well-rounded  character  and 
refinement  of  the  student  who  arranged  it.  The  many  thousand  vol 
umes  of  Americana  include  apparently  everything  available  up  to  the 
President's  death.  Although  this  historical  library  has  been  transferred 
to  the  Memorial  Building,  the  bookshelves  have  been  refilled  with 
volumes  of  general  literature,  and  so  present  little  outward  difference 
of  appearance  from  that  of  former  days.  A  beautiful  portrait  of  Mrs. 
Hayes  in  her  young  womanhood  hangs  over  the  mantel.  In  the  draw 
ing-room  hang  life-size  portraits  of  President  and  Mrs.  Hayes,  by 
Brown  and  Andrews  respectively,  and  other  admirable  family  portraits 
and  landscapes.  Fine  old  mahogany  furniture,  a  magnificent  Chinese 
rug  and  embroideries,  and  a  facsimile  of  the  desk  on  which  Jefferson 
wrote  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  are  interesting  treasures  of  this 
room. 

The  Red  Parlor  to  the  left  of  the  hall  contains  a  full-length  portrait 
of  the  only  daughter  of  the  house,  at  the  age  of  twelve,  painted  at  the 
White  House  by  Andrews;  a  water-color  by  Turner,  and  landscapes  in 
oil  by  Bierstadt  and  others.  The  chairs  are  marked,  those  used  at 
President  Hayes's  inauguration  in  1877  by  President  Grant,  Chief 
Justice  Waite,  the  Sergeant-at-Arms,  and  himself;  and  the  large  up 
holstered  chair  used  by  President  Cleveland,  at  the  funeral  of  President 


APPENDIX  443 

Hayes  in  January,  1893.  Here  are  also  the  chairs  used  at  the  funeral 
by  Governor  McKinley,  of  Ohio;  the  three  Army  Officers,  Colonels  H. 
C.  Corbin,  H.  C.  Luddington,  and  J.  C.  Breckinridge,  representing  the 
War  Department;  four  members  of  President  Harrison's  Cabinet;  the 
Honorable  J.  L.  M.  Curry,  of  Virginia,  general  agent  of  the  Peabody 
and  Slater  funds;  and  official  representatives  of  the  Loyal  Legion  of 
which  Mr.  Hayes  was  the  commander-in-chief,  and  others. 

The  bedroom  in  which  both  President  and  Mrs.  Hayes  died  faces  the 
south  and  overlooks  one  of  the  most  beautiful  parts  of  the  grove.  The 
furniture  is  of  old  mahogany,  a  four-poster  bed  and  a  post-decorated 
dresser.  The  books  and  pictures  of  Mrs.  Hayes  are  carefully  pre 
served  as  arranged  by  President  Hayes  after  her  death. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  rooms  of  the  house  is  the  large  dining-room 
with  great  windows  at  each  end  overlooking  the  lawns.  The  shelved 
chimney-piece  over  the  large  fireplace  is  devoted  to  fine  examples  of  old 
Chinese  porcelain  and  marred  samples  of  the  china  used  at  the  White 
House  during  the  Hayes  Administration.  The  chimney-piece  is  topped 
with  elk  horns  and  the  skull  and  jaws  of  a  huge  grizzly  bear  shot  by 
Colonel  Hayes.  The  two  mahogany  sideboards  are  family  heirlooms, 
descended  from  the  Birchard  and  Cook  sides  of  the  house  respectively. 
The  two  mahogany  serving-tables  from  the  White  House,  purchased 
during  Madison's  Administration,  were  bought  at  a  public  sale  of  dis 
carded  furniture  in  1881. 

An  antique  clock  which  ticks  circumspectly  near  the  dining-room 
door,  was  bequeathed  to  the  President  by  his  grandmother,  Chloe 
Smith  Hayes,  and  brought  from  the  ancestral  Hayes  homestead  in 
Brattleboro,  Vermont.  On  this  clock  stands  the  owl  which  by  dangling 
on  the  plumb-bob  of  the  Washington  Monument  nearly  caused  the 
despair  of  the  engineer  in  charge  who  thought  that  his  foundation  had 
proved  insufficient  and  that  the  monument  was  "wobbling." 

Scarcely  less  than  the  rooms  on  the  first  floor,  the  upper  chambers 
are  crowded  with  historic  and  beautiful  objects.  The  Birchard  Room 
has  untold  treasures  from  a  Colonial  and  antiquarian  point  of  view, 
including  Washington  mirrors,  a  baptismal  font  made  by  the  President's 
great-grandfather,  foot-stoves,  bed-warmers,  and  pictures  of  the  old 
Hayes  houses  at  Branford,  Connecticut;  West  Brattleboro  and  Dum- 
merston,  Vermont;  and  Delaware,  Ohio.  The  Washington  Room  con 
tains  furniture  designed  by  a  cousin,  William  Rutherford  Mead,  of  the 
firm  of  McKim,  Mead  &  White,  and  purchased  by  President  Hayes  for 
use  in  his  little  daughter's  room  at  the  White  House  to  be  retained  by 
her  as  a  souvenir.  The  Cook  Room  contains  the  furniture  used  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  when  they  were  married  and  when  they  went  to 
Columbus  during  the  first  term  as  Governor.  Here,  too,  are  gathered 
daguerreotypes  and  early  portraits  of  the  family. 

The  Otis  Room  is  furnished  with  beautiful  bedroom  mahogany 


444  APPENDIX 

brought  from  the  home  of  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Webb  C.  Hayes,  the  pres 
ent  mistress  of  Spiegel  Grove.  The  Wright  Room,  named  for  a  devoted 
friend  of  the  present  occupants  of  the  house,  the  distinguished  Professor 
George  Frederick  Wright,  of  Oberlin,  contains  a  magnificent  four-poster 
mahogany  bed,  an  ancient  blue  coverlid,  and  other  interesting  furni 
ture  and  bric-a-brac. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  western  wing  of  the  house  was  unfinished 
at  the  time  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Hayes,  it  partakes  less  of  the  heredi 
tary  character  than  the  rest  of  the  mansion;  and  Colonel  Hayes  has 
interested  himself  in  furnishing  the  rooms  with  beautiful  and  curious 
furniture  and  hangings  imported  from  the  countries  where  he  was 
under  fire  in  five  campaigns.  Imposing  and  massive  mahogany  beds 
and  dressers  furnish  the  Santiago  de  Cuba  Room;  a  vast  four-poster 
with  steps,  that  named  after  Porto  Rico;  twin  cane-bottomed,  barrel- 
canopied  beds,  and  peacock  dressers,  the  Filipino  Room;  the  Chinese 
Rooms,  en  suite,  decorated  with  Chinese  wall-paper  and  hangings,  show 
a  Chinese  bed  from  Ningpo,  a  monumental  structure,  carved,  inlaid, 
and  panelled  with  paintings  on  rice  paper;  while  the  Korean  Room 
represents  the  Russo-Japanese  War  with  a  Korean  money-chest  orna 
mented  with  brass  swastikas,  and  Chinese  and  Korean  brasses.  The 
upper  hallway,  known  as  the  "Smithsonian,"  is  used  as  an  upstairs 
sitting-room;  and  another  large  hallway  is  furnished  with  bookcases, 
settles,  and  a  handsome  secretary  purchased  for  the  White  House 
in  Lincoln's  time  and  used  in  the  Cabinet  room  during  the  Admin 
istrations  of  Grant,  Hayes,  Garfield,  Arthur,  Cleveland,  Harrison,  and 
McKinley,  until  its  sale,  with  many  other  interesting  relics,  on  the 
renovation  of  the  White  House  after  the  death  of  McKinley. 

On  General  Hayes's  personal  assumption  of  the  Spiegel  Grove 
property  in  1873,  he  began  to  improve  and  beautify  the  place,  preserv 
ing  and  accentuating  its  natural  features  by  clearing  out  indifferent 
trees,  extending  the  lawns  immediately  about  the  house  to  let  in  the 
sunlight,  opening  vistas  to  throw  into  relief  some  superb  old  oak  or 
elm,  and  planting  the  hemlock  avenue  and  wind-breaks  of  spruces  and 
pines.  The  handsome  Japanese  cypresses  and  deciduous  trees  south  of 
the  house  were  sent  thither  from  the  Centennial  Exposition  in  1876, 
being  among  the  earliest  of  such  Japanese  importations.  General  Hayes 
took  particular  pleasure  in  gathering  historic  trees,  among  which  were 
a  Napoleon  willow,  the  forebears  of  which  were  willows  on  Washing 
ton's  grave  at  Mount  Vernon  and  Napoleon's  at  St.  Helena;  two  oaks 
grown  from  acorns  of  the  veritable  Charter  Oak  at  Hartford,  Connecti 
cut,  and  tulip  trees  from  the  Virginia  home  of  James  Madison.  General 
Hayes  would  point  out  to  interested  visitors  storied  trees  like  the  oak 
to  which  savage  Indians  bound  a  captive  maiden  and  built  a  fire 
about  her,  when  a  thunderstorm  burst  and  put  out  the  flames.  White 


APPENDIX  445 

traders  hearing  of  the  outrage  sent  a  swift  runner  to  Detroit  to  get  an 
order  for  her  release  from  the  Crane,  the  Wyandot  chief;  and  he  re 
turned  in  time  to  save  the  captive.  Another  tree  with  a  tale  is  "Grand 
father's,"  an  oak  with  a  large  hole  near  its  base,  under  which  Mrs. 
Hayes's  father  camped  one  night  during  the  War  of  1812.  The  story 
ran  that  he  and  a  comrade  were  sent  out  to  forage  for  provisions.  It 
was  so  bitterly  cold  that  they  could  not  make  their  way  back  to 
camp,  and  lighting  a  fire  at  the  foot  of  this  tree  they  slept  there  in  the 
open.  The  soldiers  in  camp  had  their  feet  frozen  that  night,  but  this 
pair  escaped  such  disaster.  The  old  musket  and  hunting-horn  of  this 
Private  James  Webb,  of  the  Kentucky  Mounted  Riflemen,  are  among 
the  treasures  of  the  house. 

West  of  the  residence,  in  an  open  field  adjoining  Spiegel  Grove, 
General  Hayes  laid  out  the  Lucy  Hayes  Chapel  in  young  walnut  trees, 
with  nave,  transepts,  and  tower,  —  a  chapel  which  he  used  to  say 
would  be  worth  looking  at  two  hundred  years  hence. 

The  base  of  the  knoll  beyond  the  lawn  south  of  the  house  is  marked 
by  great  granite  boulders  in  memory  of  departed  horses,  "Old  Ned, 
aged  36,"  and  Colonel  Hayes's  Filipino  pony,  "Piddig."  Here  is  buried 
the  only  war  horse  of  President  Hayes  that  survived  the  battles  of  the 
war,  "Old  Whitey,  a  Hero  of  Nineteen  Battles,  '61-65." 

General  Hayes  moved  the  main  entrance  to  Spiegel  Grove,  the 
"Buckland  Gateway,"  to  the  northeastern  angle  of  the  grove,  and  laid 
out  the  winding  driveway  to  the  house.  The  main  drive  through 
the  grove  follows  the  old  Sandusky-Scioto  Trail  of  the  Indians  and 
French  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio  River,  now  known  as  the  Harrison 
Military  Trail  of  the  War  of  1812,  down  which  General  Harrison 
brought  his  troops  on  his  way  to  Fort  Stephenson  after  Croghan's  vic 
tory.  The  road  leaves  the  grove  by  the  Harrison  Gateway,  at  the 
southwestern  angle,  continuing  down  to  the  old  French  spring,  and  on 
up  the  Sandusky  to  Ball's  battlefield,  Fort  Seneca,  Fort  Ball  (Tiffin), 
Fort  Ferree,  and  Upper  Sandusky  to  Franklinton  (now  Columbus). 

Since  Colonel  Hayes  presented  Spiegel  Grove  to  the  Ohio  Archaeologi 
cal  and  Historical  Society,  he  has  erected  three  beautiful  split  boulder 
gateways  at  the  three  principal  entrances,  two  of  them  marked  by 
enormous  ten-inch  Rodman  guns  and  named  in  honor  of  the  two  mili 
tary  heroes,  General  William  Henry  Harrison  and  General  James  B. 
McPherson  (a  native  of  this  county),  with  legends  descriptive  of  the 
important  military  events  which  had  local  interest  in  the  old  French 
War,  Pontiac's  Conspiracy,  the  Revolutionary  War,  the  War  of  1812, 
the  War  with  Mexico,  the  War  for  the  Union,  and  the  war  with  Spain, 
and  in  the  Philippines  and  China. 

During  the  first  year  of  President  Hayes's  Administration,  at  the 
annual  reunion  of  his  regiment,  the  custom  of  naming  trees  after  dis 
tinguished  guests  was  inaugurated  by  the  naming  of  the  "Reunion 


446  APPENDIX 

Oaks"  in  honor  of  General  Sheridan  and  of  General  Hayes's  fellow 
officers  in  the  colonelcy  of  his  regiment,  the  Twenty-third  Ohio  In 
fantry,  —  Generals  Rosecrans,  Scammon,  and  Comly.  At  this  time 
were  named  also  the  "Matthews  Oak,"  the  "Chief  Justice  Waite 
Oak,"  and  the  "General  Crook  Oak." 

The  finest  elm  in  the  grove  was  christened  the  "General  Sherman 
Elm"  while  General  Sherman  was  visiting  Spiegel  Grove  in  1880, 
after  his  memorable  trip  escorting  President  Hayes  and  party  to  the 
Pacific  Coast  and  the  Texan  frontier  posts.  Since  that  time  the  "Gar- 
field  Maple,"  the  "Cleveland  Hickory,"  the  "McKinley  Oaks,"  and 
the  "Taft  Oak"  have  been  named  in  honor  of  Presidential  visitors, 
and  the  "Admiral  Clark  Oak"  in  honor  of  the  Captain  of  the  Oregon 
in  the  war  with  Spain.  When  the  great  concourse  gathered  to  pay  the 
last  tribute  to  President  Hayes,  at  his  funeral  in  1893,  Grover  Cleveland, 
ex-President  and  now  again  President-elect,  made  the  long  journey  in 
the  midst  of  furious  winter  storms  to  show  his  frequently  expressed 
admiration  and  regard  for  President  Hayes.  As  the  procession  formed, 
the  family  horses  attached  to  the  old  White  House  carriage  became 
somewhat  fractious,  owing  to  the  crisp  air  and  the  music  of  the 
bands,  so  that,  as  President  Cleveland  was  about  to  enter  the  car 
riage,  the  horses  made  a  plunge  forward.  While  the  horses  were  being 
brought  under  control  President  Cleveland  placed  his  right  hand 
upon  a  large  shell-bark  hickory.  It  was  deemed  especially  appropri 
ate,  therefore,  that  this  tree  should  be  named  in  honor  of  the  great 
Democrat. 

The  Taft  Oak  was  also  named  by  the  laying-on  of  hands.  Just  before 
starting  on  his  speaking  campaign  during  the  Presidential  canvass  in 
1908,  Mr.  Taft  and  his  charming  wife  (who  as  Miss  Helen  Herron  had 
been  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  Hayes  home  both  in  Ohio  and  at 
Washington)  came  to  spend  a  day  at  Spiegel  Grove  as  the  guests  of 
Colonel  Hayes.  Judge  Taft  was  advised  by  his  host  of  the  custom  of 
naming  trees  for  distinguished  visitors,  and  after  having  had  pointed 
out  to  him  the  General  Sherman  Elm,  the  Cleveland  Hickory,  the 
Garfield  Maple,  and  the  McKinley  Oaks,  he  was  invited  to  select  his 
tree.  He  promptly  advanced  to  one  of  the  grandest  oaks  in  the  grove, 
immediately  in  front  of  the  mansion,  and  placing  his  hand  upon  it 
said  with  a  Taft  smile,  "This  is  about  my  size!"  Since  then  the  tree 
has  borne  his  name. 

In  the  will  made  by  President  Hayes,  a  short  time  before  his  death, 
he  bequeathed,  at  the  request  of  his  children,  Spiegel  Grove  and  all  the 
personal  property  connected  therewith  to  them  to  be  held  in  common 
without  sale  or  division.  Five  years  later,  the  Ohio  Archaeological  and 
Historical  Society,  of  which  President  Hayes  was  the  president  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  issued  a  confidential  circular  with  a  view  of  securing 
the  property  with  its  valuable  library  and  collections,  which  had  been 


g  a 


APPENDIX  447 

tendered  to  it  on  the  sole  condition  of  raising  an  endowment  sufficient 
to  preserve  and  care  for  the  property.  In  this  circular  the  society  said : 
"This  offer  of  the  family  is  unusual  for  its  liberality,  and  most  worthy  of 
commendation  for  the  filial  desire  it  expresses  to  perpetuate  the  memorial 
to  loved  and  honored  parents.  The  place  known  as  Spiegel  Grove  is  of 
great  historic  interest,  being  located  in  the  old  Indian  reservation  or 
free  territory  maintained  at  the  lower  rapids  of  the  Sandusky  River,  for 
a  long  time  prior  to  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  old  Harrison  Trail,  so 
called,  a  military  road  leading  from  Fort  Stephenson  to  Fort  Seneca, 
passes  through  the  grove,  and  is  preserved  as  its  principal  driveway. 
Of  all  the  homes  of  our  twenty-four  Presidents,  covering  a  period  of 
one  hundred  and  ten  years,  the  only  ones  that  have  been  preserved  are 
those  of  Washington  at  Mount  Vernon,  Jefferson  at  Monticello,  Madi 
son  at  Montpelier,  Jackson  at  the  Hermitage,  and  Lincoln's  modest 
home  in  the  city  of  Springfield;  but  in  every  case  mentioned  more  or 
less  time  had  elapsed  before  the  homes  were  acquired  and  put  in  a  state 
of  preservation,  and  few  or  no  personal  relics  or  memorials  were  secured. 
Spiegel  Grove  is  now  in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation,  and  all  of  the 
valuable  historical  effects  of  President  Hayes  remain  there  intact.  Un 
questionably  this  is  the  largest  and  most  complete  and  perhaps  most 
valuable  collection  of  documents,  papers,  and  books  ever  left  by  any 
of  our  Presidents.  President  Hayes  was  a  great  reader  and  a  man  of 
scholarly  tastes  and  attainments.  He  acquired  the  finest  library  of 
American  history  perhaps  ever  owned  by  any  private  individual,  and 
during  his  public  life  he  preserved  all  papers  and  memoranda  in  an 
orderly  and  accessible  form." 

President  McKinley,  hearing  of  the  possibility  of  the  trustees  of  the 
society  obtaining  ownership  of  Spiegel  Grove,  wrote  to  the  president, 
General  R.  Brinkerhoff :  "The  offer  made  by  the  family  is  one  which  will 
appeal  to  the  public  spirit  of  the  citizens  of  Ohio.  So  historic  an  estate, 
with  its  wealth  of  associations  and  interest,  and  an  exceedingly  im 
portant  collection  of  books  and  documents,  should  be  saved  to  the 
State  of  Ohio  and  placed  within  the  reach  of  all  to  whom  their  use  will 
be  of  great  value  and  inspiration." 

The  society,  however,  did  not  succeed  in  raising  the  required  endow 
ment,  and  the  entire  Spiegel  Grove  property,  library,  and  collections, 
became  the  property  of  Colonel  Webb  C.  Hayes  by  deed  from  the  other 
heirs  in  the  settlement  of  the  estate  in  1899,  since  which  time  he  has 
maintained  it  as  the  Hayes  family  summer  home.  In  order  to  secure 
the  permanent  preservation  of  the  Harrison  Trail,  Colonel  Hayes  on 
March  30,  1909,  deeded  some  twenty  acres  of  Spiegel  Grove  for  a  State 
Park  "to  the  State  of  Ohio  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  Ohio  State 
Archaeological  and  Historical  Society  so  long  as  said  premises  shall  be 
maintained  and  used  as  a  state  park,  in  which  the  old  French  and  In 
dian  trail  along  the  Sandusky-Scioto  Water  Course  from  Lake  Erie  to 
the  Ohio  River,  later  known  as  the  Harrison  Military  Trail  of  the  War 


448  APPENDIX 

of  1812,  shall  be  preserved  in  its  present  location  and  maintained  as  a 
drive,  and  in  which  the  trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers,  now  growing  in  said 
park  shall  be  preserved  and  cared  for,  and  together  with  such  other 
trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers  as  may  hereafter  be  planted  in  said  park  shall 
be  properly  marked  with  the  scientific  and  common  names,  so  as  to  be 
instructive  and  interesting  to  visitors. 

"The  Grantor  reserves  the  right  to  transfer  the  remains  of  Ruther 
ford  B.  Hayes  and  Lucy  W.  Hayes  to  the  knoll  in  the  premises  hereby 
conveyed  in  Spiegel  Grove  to  be  placed  in  a  granite  block  beneath  the 
monument  heretofore  designed  and  erected  by  Rutherford  B.  Hayes 
in  Oakwood  Cemetery,  Fremont.  The  said  monument,  together  with 
such  improvements  as  shall  be  placed  around  it,  shall  be  preserved  and 
maintained  forever,  but  no  building  or  structure,  save  the  monument, 
other  than  a  suitable  enclosure  from  the  public  roads,  or  around  the 
monument,  shall  be  erected  in  said  park  without  the  consent  in  writing 
of  the  Grantor." 

A  year  later,  on  March  12,  1910,  Colonel  Hayes  executed  a  trust 
deed,  to  secure  to  the  State  of  Ohio  all  the  remaining  portion  of  Spiegel 
Grove,  including  the  residence,  as  well  as  "all  the  personal  property 
which  formerly  belonged  to  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  and  Lucy  Webb 
Hayes,  or  either  of  them,  located  in  said  Spiegel  Grove  or  elsewhere  in 
the  city  of  Fremont,  Ohio."  The  deed  declares:  — 

"Ever  since  the  death  of  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  and  Lucy  Webb 
Hayes,  it  has  been  the  desire  of  their  children  to  place  Spiegel  Grove, 
which  for  many  years  was  their  home,  into  such  hands  and  under  such 
conditions  as  would  make  it  a  fitting  memorial  from  their  children  to 
a  beloved  father  and  mother.  In  partial  accomplishment  of  this  desire 
the  said  Grantor  has  heretofore  conveyed  to  the  State  of  Ohio  portions 
of  the  aforesaid  Spiegel  Grove,  which  portions  so  conveyed  are  to  be 
held  by  the  State  of  Ohio  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  Ohio  State 
Archaeological  and  Historical  Society  so  long  as  the  premises  shall  be 
maintained  as  a  State  Park  in  which  the  Old  French  and  Indian  Trail 
along  the  Sandusky-Scioto  Water  Course  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio 
River,  later  known  as  the  Harrison  Military  Trail  of  the  War  of  1812, 
shall  be  preserved  in  its  present  location  and  maintained  as  a  park  drive, 
together  with  the  park  drives  in  the  above  described  premises  substan 
tially  as  now  located,  and  in  which  the  trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers  now 
growing  in  said  Park  and  Spiegel  Grove  shall  be  preserved  and  cared  for, 
and  together  with  other  trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers  as  may  be  hereafter 
planted  in  said  Park  and  Spiegel  Grove  shall  be  properly  marked  with 
their  scientific  and  common  names  so  as  to  be  instructive  and  interest 
ing  to  visitors.  In  order  to  completely  carry  out  the  intentions  of  said 
Grantor,  so  that  ultimately  all  of  Spiegel  Grove  may  be  held  and  used 
for  the  purpose  aforesaid,  and  the  residence  therein  preserved  in  its 
original  condition  as  a  typical  American  home  of  the  last  half  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century  and  used  for  residential  purposes  only,  the  said 


APPENDIX  449 

Grantor  has  executed  and  delivered  this  conveyance,  subject  to  the 
following  covenants  and  conditions: 

"First:  That  the  said  Ohio  State  Archaeological  and  Historical  So 
ciety  shall  secure  the  erection  upon  that  part  of  Spiegel  Grove  hereto 
fore  conveyed  to  the  State  of  Ohio  for  a  State  Park  a  suitable  fireproof 
building,  on  the  site  reserved  opposite  the  Jefferson  Street  entrance,  for 
the  purpose  of  preserving  and  forever  keeping  in  Spiegel  Grove  all 
papers,  books,  and  manuscripts  left  by  the  said  Rutherford  B.  Hayes, 
together  with  such  articles  and  property  formerly  belonging  to  the  said 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes  as  are  now  loaned  to  or  stored  with  the  Birchard 
Library  Association  or  elsewhere  in  Fremont,  Ohio;  including  also  such 
articles  and  property  of  the  Grantor  as  may  have  been  loaned  or  stored 
by  the  said  Grantor  with  the  Western  Reserve  Historical  Society  of 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  or  the  Birchard  Library  Association  of  Fremont, 
Ohio;  which  building  shall  be  in  the  form  of  a  Branch  Reference  Library 
and  Museum  of  the  Ohio  State  Archaeological  and  Historical  Society, 
and  the  construction  and  decoration  of  the  said  building  shall  be  in  the 
nature  of  a  memorial  also  to  the  soldiers,  sailors,  and  pioneers  of  San- 
dusky  County;  and  suitable  memorial  tablets,  busts,  and  decorations 
indicative  of  the  historical  events  and  patriotic  citizenship  of  Sandusky 
County  shall  be  placed  in  and  on  said  building,  and  said  building  shall 
forever  remain  open  to  the  public  under  proper  rules  and  regulations 
to  be  hereafter  made  by  said  Society. 

"Second:  Any  conveyance  of  the  described  premises  shall  reserve  to 
the  said  Grantor  during  his  lifetime  and  to  his  nominee,  appointed  as 
hereinafter  provided  and  to  the  remaining  Grantees  and  to  their  nom 
inees  and  to  the  successors  of  said  nominees  as  hereinafter  appointed 
after  said  Grantor's  death  the  right  of  occupying  the  residence  now 
located  upon  the  premises.  .  .  . 

"No  person  except  a  husband  or  a  wife  of  the  above  named  Grantees 
shall  be  nominated  or  given  the  right  of  occupying  said  residence  in 
the  manner  aforesaid  unless  he  or  she  shall  be  a  lineal  descendant  of 
the  said  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  and  Lucy  Webb  Hayes.  If  at  any  time 
there  shall  be  no  one  living  selected  in  the  manner  aforesaid  to  occupy 
said  residence,  then  the  Trustees  of  the  Ohio  State  Archaeological  and 
Historical  Society  shall  have  the  right  to  select  a  lineal  descendant  of 
the  said  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  and  Lucy  Webb  Hayes  to  use  and  occupy 
said  residence;  but  said  residence  shall  never  be  occupied  or  used  for 
any  other  than  residential  purposes  only,  to  the  end  of  preserving  it  in 
its  original  condition  as  a  typical  home  of  the  last  half  of  the  Nine 
teenth  Century. 

"The  foregoing  matter  contained  in  this  second  paragraph  shall  not 
preclude  the  occupancy  of  a  suitable  portion  of  said  residence  by  a  care 
taker  during  the  absence  of  those  who  by  the  terms  of  this  paragraph 
are  given  the  right  of  occupancy  in  said  home.'* 

The  society  was  rejoiced  to  accept  the  trust,  and  the  Legislature  of 


450  APPENDIX 

Ohio  was  not  slow  in  appropriating  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  the  erection 
of  a  fireproof  building.  This  Memorial  Building,  which  is  a  beautiful 
structure  of  classic  architecture,  stands  among  the  great  trees  to  the 
north  of  the  house,  facing  the  entrance  from  Hayes  Avenue.  It  is  of 
light-grey  Ohio  sandstone  and  of  ample  proportions.  Within  its  walls, 
carefully  arranged,  are  now  permanently  preserved  the  valuable  li 
brary,  papers,  and  collections  of  President  Hayes. 

Thus  there  is  no  absence  at  Spiegel  Grove  of  that  tradition  which 
Ruskin  thought  would  "rob  your  rivers  of  their  laughter  and  your 
flowers  of  their  light."  Nature  and  intelligent  endeavor,  working  hand 
in  hand,  have  stamped  beauty  and  story  upon  its  every  detail.  One 
feels  that  the  influence  of  the  early  denizens  of  the  place  still  haunts  it; 
that  over  house  and  grounds  broods  a  spirit  of  beautiful  other  days  when 
a  sturdy  man  and  a  lovely  woman  who  had  received  the  highest  honors 
in  the  land  lived  there,  leaving  behind  them  traditions  of  gracious  man 
ners,  high  ideals,  and  noble  characters  as  a  legacy  to  their  children,  their 
townspeople,  and  their  countrymen.  Of  memorial  parks  such  as  Spiegel 
Grove  this  land  has  all  too  few. 


INDEX 


INDEX 

PREPARED  BY 

DAVID  M.  MATTESON 


Abbe,  Cleveland,  at  H.'s  reunion  of  Literary 
Club,  2,  323. 

Abbott,  E.  A.,  in  West  Virginia  operations 
(1862),  1,  170  n.,  173;  and  Morgan's  raid, 
211. 

Abbott,  J.  S.,  of  Electoral  Commission,  1, 
530  n. 

Abolitionists,  Story  on,  and  Constitution,  1, 
36.  See  also  Slavery. 

Adams.  C.  F.,  and  Liberal  nomination 
(1872),  1,  366. 

Adams,  C.  H.,  verses  on  Taps,  2,  401  n. 

Adams,  Henry,  at  dinner  with  H.,  on  failure 
of  American  government,  2,  327  n. 

Adams,  J.  Q.,  H.  on,  as  political  speaker,  1, 
34;  activity  of  office-holders  under,  2,  379. 

Adams,  John,  and  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence,  1,  41;  and  power  of  removal,  43. 

Addison,  Joseph,  H.  on,  1,  72  n. 

Agricultural  college,  H.  and,  for  Ohio,  1; 
329,  349.  See  also  Ohio  State  University. 

Aiken,  William,  Peabody  Education  Fund, 
2,351. 

Albert,  Prince,  Emerson  on,  1,  62. 

Albritton,  J.  L.,  at  H.'s  funeral,  2,  400. 

Aldrich,  N.  W.,  opposes  retirement  of  green 
backs,  2,  129  n. 

Alexis,  Grand  Duke,  dinner  at  White  House, 

2,  312. 

Allen,  Walter,  Ponca  Indian  Commission,  2, 
231  n. 

Allen,  William,  on  stump  in  Ohio  (1840),  1, 
98;  elected  Governor  (1873),  381;  adminis 
tration,  382;  renomination,  388,  391;  de 
feated  by  H.,  406;  on  civil  service  reform, 
465;  Tilden  and  candidacy  (1875),  481. 

Allison,  W.  B.,  and  H.'s  letter  of  acceptance, 
1,  466  n.;  silver  bill,  2,  115;  opposes  retire 
ment  of  greenbacks,  129  n. ;  at  dinner  with 
H.,  327  n.;  H.  on  presidential  candidacy 
(1888),  370. 

American  Alliance,  H.'s  attitude  (1876),  1, 
476^478,  485. 

American  party.     See  Know-Nothing. 

American  Revolution,  ancestors  of  H.  in,  1, 

3,  5,  13,  14;  British  intrigue  in  Vermont, 
9;  ancestors  of  Mrs.  Hayes  in,  78. 

Ames,  Fisher,  and  Hamilton's  financial  argu 
ment,  1,  45. 

Ammen,  Jacob,  regiment  in  West  Virginia 
(1861),  1,  145. 

Anderson,  J.  E.,  on  election  frauds  in  Louisi 
ana,  2,  150,  157;  H.  on  relations  with, 
157  n.,  158  n. 

Anderson,  R.  C.,  to  H  (1876)  on  conduct  dur 
ing  and  after  campaign,  1,  498  n.;  H.'s 
visit  (1876),  511;  (1877),  2,  246  n.;  H.  on 
death,  321  n. 

Anderson,  Robert,  H.  on  failure  at  Sumter, 
1,  120;  correspondence  with  Beckley,  161. 


Anderson,  T.  C.,  Louisiana  Returning  Board, 
Sherman's  opinion,  1, 503, 507;  Federal  ap 
pointment,  2,  109  n.;  prosecution,  143. 

Andrews,  Christian  [Mrs.  John  Birchard], 
1»  13. 

Andrews,  Lorin,  in  campaign  of  1840,  1,  26; 
career,  26  n. ;  spurs,  205. 

Andrews,  Samuel,  and  beginning  of  Yale,  1, 
7  n. 

Angell,  J.  B.,  special  Chinese  mission,  2,  217. 

Annexation,  Story  on  constitutional  right,  1, 
43;  H.  accused  of  designs  on  Mexico,  2, 
209;  H.  favors  Canadian,  377. 

Antietam  campaign,  march  of  Cox's  division, 
1,  193-196;  reoccupation  of  Frederick,  1%; 
South  Mountain,  197-201. 

Appointments.     See  Civil  service. 

Appropriation  bills,  extra  session  (1877),  2, 
81 ;  (1879) ,  173 ;  failure  (45th  Cong.) ,  contest 
over  riders,  170-173;  Democratic  policy  to 
withhold  supplies  to  coerce  repeal  of  recon 
struction  laws,  172,  177, 178, 190-194;  H.'s 
determination  to  resist  coercion,  179-185; 
vetoes,  185-194,  197-203;  failure  of  policy, 
199,  204. 

Arbitration,  H.  on,  2,  10. 

Archaeology,  interest  of  H.  in  Ohio  memorials, 
1,  350. 

Aristotle,  H.  on  Ethics,  1,  68. 

Arkansas,  conditions  (1866),  1,  309.  See  also 
Reconstruction. 

Armorial  bearings,  Hayes,  1,  2. 

Armstead,  Rosetta,  fugitive-slave  case,  1, 
94,  95. 

Armstrong,  H.  C.,  on  nomination  of  H.  for 
Congress  (1864),  1,  235  n. 

Army,  constitutionality  of  protection  of 
carpetbag  governments,  2,  39,  43;  sup 
pression  of  railroad  riots  (1877),  113,  228; 
rider  to  repeal  use  at  polls,  170,  183,  186, 
187;  H.'s  attitude  and  veto,  184-194;  inter 
ference  at  polls  prevented  by  other  laws, 
185,  187,  194;  bill  as  denying  right  of  fed 
eral  civil  officers  at  polls,  184,  188,  189, 194; 
veto  of  separate  bill  to  prevent  presence  at 
place  of  election,  195-197;  act  to  forbid  use 
at  polls  as  police  force,  200,  201  n. 
Army  of  West  Virginia,  H.  as  first  president 
of  Society  of,  1,  274;  reunion  (1892),  2, 
393  n.  See  also  Crook. 

Arnold,  Jonathan,  and  British  intrigue  in 

Vermont,  1,  9. 
Arthur,  Alfred,  report  on  Morgan's  raid,  1, 

212  n. 

Arthur,  C.  A.,  Collector  at  New  York,  and 
H.'s  reform  order,  2,  85;  contest  over  re 
moval,  85^94;  and  civil  service  reform 
when  President,  107  n.,  365;  nomination 
for  Vice-President,  238;  and  H.  at  Grant's 
funeral,  359  n.,  360  n.;  H.  at  funeral,  360; 


454 


INDEX 


H.  on  probable  results  of  presidency,  362- 
364;  H.  on  first  message,  365. 

Ashley,  J.  M.,  H.  on,  1,  277;  and  representa 
tion  based  on  suffrage,  278. 

Assessments,  political,  H.'s  attitude  (1876) 
1,  482;  H.'s  order  against,  2, 80,  86  n.,  103 
106. 

Atlanta,  H.'s  visit  and  speech  (1877),  2,  250- 

Atlanta  New  Era,  on  Reconstruction  Acts,  1. 

312. 
Augusta  Press,  on  Reconstruction  Acts,  1. 

312. 
Austin,    Drusilla    [Mrs.    Roger    Birchard], 

1,  6,  14. 
Austin,  Mrs.  L.  C.,  H.'s  last  visit,  2,  397; 

H.'s  friendship,  423. 
Austin,  Texas,  in  1849,  1,  52. 
Averell,  W.  W.,  railroad  raid  (1863),  1,  214; 

(1864),  217,  220;  in  the  Valley,  232;  Ope- 

quon,   240,  242,   251;   Fisher's  Hill,   248, 

249  n.,  251;  relieved,  251. 
A  very,  M.  P.,  in  West  Virginia   operations 

(1861),  1,  152;  (1862),  178,  179. 

B.C.Levi,  river  steamer  (1863),  1,  212. 
Bacon,  F.  H.,  in  West  Virginia  (1862).  1, 

206. 

Bacon,  Francis,  on  personal  talk,  1.  21. 
Baker,  E.  D.,  killed  at  Ball's  Bluff,  1,  146- 

H.  on,  147. 

Ball's  Bluff,  battle,  1,  146;  H.  on,  147. 
Baltimore  American,  on  H.'s  speeches  (1879), 

Bancroft,  George,  H.  on,  as  public  speaker 
(1843),  1,  35;  social  relations  with  H.,  2, 
305,  312  n.;  dinner  for  Pres.  H.,  327  n. 

Bank  of  the  United  States,  Hamilton's  un 
answerable  argument,  1,  42;  H.  on  Tyler's 
veto,  98. 

Banking.  See  Bank  of  United  States,  Fi 
nances,  National  banks. 

Banks,  N.  P.,  popularity  with  troops,  1,  192; 
on  assassination  of  Garfield,  2,  364. 

Barnes,  J.  K.,  Peabody  Education  Fund,  2, 
351. 

Barrett,  J.  E.,  in  retreat  from  the  Valley 
(1864),  1,  226  n. 

Bartholomew,  Linn,  nominates  Hartranft 
(1876),  1,  448. 

Barton  Spring,  Texas,  1,  52. 

Bashford,  J.  W.,  at  Mrs.  Hayes'  funeral, 
2,  390,  391;  at  H.'s  funeral,  400. 

Bateman,  A.  E.,  at  Southern  dinner  in  New 
York  (1889),  2,  387  n. 

Batt,  W.  J.,  on  H.  and  Prison  Association, 
2,  347  n. 

Baxter,  John,  H.  on  appointment,  2,  89  n. 

Bayard,  T.  F.,  of  joint  committee  on  dis 
puted  election,  1,  524  n. ;  of  Electoral  Com 
mission,  530  n.;  and  French  Panama  Ca 
nal,  2,  219. 

Beaconsfield.     See  Disraeli. 

Beard,  J.  H.,  volunteer  home  company,  1, 
121. 

Beatty,  W.  T.,  objection  to  appointed  regi 
mental  officers,  1,  125. 

Beck,  J.  B.,  and  Democratic  programme  on 
election  laws  (1879),  2,  178,  179. 

Beckley,  Alfred  [1],  war  attitude,  papers,  1, 
161;  surrender,  163,  164;  anecdote  of 
Jackson,  163. 

Beckley,  Alfred  [2],  captured  and  exchanged, 
1,  163. 

Beckley  (Raleigh),  W.  Va.,  Federal  troops 
at  (1861-62),  1,  153,  157,  158,  160,  164, 
165,  169;  movement  against  (1863),  209. 


Beckwith,  Elizabeth  [Mrs.  James  Birchard], 

1»  13. 

Beecher,  H.  W.,  Emerson  on,  1,  62;  on  the 
war,  121;  and  rumor  on  Lowell's  electoral 
vote  (1876),  500  n.;  and  Chinese  immigra 
tion,  2,  211. 
Bell,  John,  H.  on  campaign  of  1860,  1,  115, 

116. 
Belmont,  August,  and  Bland  Silver  Bill,  2, 

123. 
Benham,  H.  W.,  in  West  Virginia  campaign 

(1861),!,  132,  134,  136,  153. 
Bennington,  Vt.,  centennial  of  battle,  2,  242. 
Berrien,  J.  M.,  H.  on,  as  speaker,  1,  44. 
Berryville,  Va.,  battle  (1864),  1,  236. 
Betting,  Story  on,  1,  34. 
Beverly,  W.  Va.,  Federals  at  (1861),  1,  132. 
Bible,  H.  on,   as  literature,  1,  72.     See  also 

Religion. 

Bickham,  W.  D.,  from  H.  (1875)  on  candi 
dacy  for  Governor,  1,  383;  and  nomination 
of  H.,  385;  from  H.  on  issues  and  conduct 
of  campaign,  390,  391;  and  H.'s  presiden 
tial  candidacy,  443  n.;  on  filibuster  over 
electoral  count,  532  n. ;  on  precautions  for 
H.'s  safety  (1877),  2,  3;  from  H.  (1877)  on 
Southern  policy,  66  ».;  on  H.'s  tour  of  the 
South,  253. 

Bimetallism.    See  Silver. 
Birchard,  Austin,  H.  on,  1,  39. 
Birchard,  Christian  (Andrews),  1,  13. 
Birchard,  Drusilla  (Austin),  1,  6,  14. 
Birchard,  Elias,  career,  1,  13. 
Birchard,  Elizabeth  (Beckwith),  1,  13. 
Birchard,  James,  career,  1,  13. 
Birchard,  Jane  (Lee  |  Hyde) ,  1,  13. 
Birchard,  John  [1],  career,  1,  13. 
Birchard,  John  [2,  g.s.],  1,  13. 
Birchard,  Roger,  1,  6,  14. 
Birchard,  Sarah  (Jacobs),  1,  14. 
Birchard,  Sardis,  and  H.,  1,  14,  2,  417;  at 
Lower  Sandusky  (Fremont),  1,  46;  visit 
to  Texas,  48-54;  at  H.'s  wedding,   81;  in 
Boston  (1844),  100;  presents  Spiegel  Grove 
to  H.,  376,  2,  441;  and  park  and  library  for 
Fremont,  1,  376,  378;  death,  377;  charac 
ter,  H.  on,  377;  H.  as  executor,  378;  and 
name  Spiegel  Grove,  2,  331  n.;  portrait, 
442. 
Birchard,  Sophia  [Mrs.  Rutherford  Hayes], 

I,  6. 

Birchard,  Thomas,  immigrant,  career,  1,  13. 
Black,  J.  S.,  and  disputed  election,  1,  531  n. 
Black  code,  repeal  of  Ohio's,  1,  329. 
Blackburn,  J.  C.  S.,  and  Potter  Committee 
(1878), 2,156, 1 56 n.,157n.;  and  Democratic 
coercive  programme  (1879),  179  n. 
Blackstone,  Sir  William,  H.  on    Commen 
taries,  1,  29. 

Blaine,  J.  G.,  congratulates  H.  on  nomina 
tion  for  Governor  (1875),  1, 387  n.;  as  can 
didate  for  presidential  nomination  (1876), 
character,  418,  453  n.,  454  n.;  and  reform 
ers,  431;  H.  on  candidacy  (1876),  432,  454; 
Curtis  on  candidacy,  434;  Ingersoll's  nom 
ination  speech,  446;  danger  of  stampede 
for,  448;  in  balloting,  448-452;  congratu 
lates  H.  on  nomination,  456;  on  Demo 
cratic  platform,  467  n. ;  in  campaign,  484; 
opposition  to  H.,  attacks  on  Southern  pol 
icy  and  Cabinet,  2,  16,  16  n.,  22,  25,  26, 
29,  43,  65,  227;  to  H.  (1877)  on  Cabinet 
position  for  J.  E.  Johnston,  21  n. ;  and  New 
York  Custom  House  appointments  (1877), 
87;  opposes  retirement  of  greenbacks, 
129  n. ;  accuses  H.  of  designs  on  Mexico, 
210;  and  Chinese  immigration,  213;  can- 


INDEX 


455 


didacy  (1880),  233  n.,  234,  237;  Grant  on 
(1879),  236  n.;  H.  on  campaign  (1884), 
3G6-368;  H.  on  candidacy  (1888),  370  n., 
371;  (1892),  375,  376. 

Blair,  Montgomery,  and  fraud  issue  of  dis 
puted  election,  2~,  146,  147. 

Bland,  R.  P.,  silver  bill,  2,  115. 

Bland  Silver  Bill,  2,  115,  120-124;  veto  mes 
sage,  124-126;  passage  over  veto,  126;  jus 
tice  of  veto,  126;  in  operation,  effect,  127; 
H.'s  efforts  for  repeal,  134,  137. 

Blatchford,  Samuel,  H.  on  appointment,  2, 
89  n. 

"Bloody  shirt,"  H.'a  opposition,  2,  340  n., 
341  n. 

Boards,  H.  and  minority  representation  on 
State,  1,  346. 

Bonaparte,  J.  N.,  at  dinner  with  H.,  2, 327  n. 

Bonaparte,  Mrs.  Jerome,  anecdotes,  2,  327  n. 

Bonds,  sale  for  resumption,  3,  113,  128,  131; 
refunding  under  H.,  113  n.,  132,  133;  H. 
on  free  silver  as  violating  public  faith  with 
holders,  117,  119,  120,  124-126;  concurrent 
resolution  for  payment  in  silver,  128;  pop 
ular  interest  in  small,  132  n.;  veto  of  Re 
funding  Bill  (1881),  137-140.  See  also 
Public  debt. 

Booth,  Judge  — ,  and  free  silver,  2,  120. 

Booth,  Newton,  considered  for  H.'s  Cabinet, 
2,  17. 

Booth,  O.  H.,  from  H.  (1870)  on  minority 
representation  on  State  boards,  1,  346  n. 

Borden,  H.  C.,  at  H.'s  reunion  of  Literary 
Club,  2,  323. 

Border  States,  H.  on  solution  of  slavery  ques 
tion  (1862),  1,  157. 

Boston,  H.'s  visit  (1877),  2,  241. 

Boston  Herald,  on  H.  as  presidential  possi 
bility  (1875),  1,  424. 

Boston  Post,  on  negro  suffrage,  1,  317. 

Boston  Transcript,  on  H.'s  appearance,  2, 
412  n. 

Bottsford,  J.  L.,  in  West  Virginia  operations 
(1861),  1,  133;  (1862),  170. 

Bounty  jumper,  execution,  1,  231,  476  n. 

Bowles,  Samuel,  on  Greeley  as  presidential 
candidate,  1,  372,  373. 

Boyce,  J.  P.,  Slater  Fund,  2,  352. 

Boynton,  H.  V.,  on  Kellar  in  Washington 
(1877),!,  520  n. 

Bradley,  J.  P.,  as  member  of  Electoral  Com 
mission,  1,  530,  537. 

Bradley  family  of  Vermont,  Russell  ancestry, 
1,  8n. 

Brady,  J.  T.,  War  Democrat,  1,  209. 

Bragg,  Abram,  Union  man  in  West  Virginia, 
1,  166. 

Bragg,  Braxton,  Kentucky  campaign,  1,  191- 
193. 

Branford,  Conn.,  Russell  family,  1,  7,  8;  sec 
ond  founding,  7  n. 

Brattleboro,  Vt.,  Hayes  family  and  home 
stead,  1,  5. 

Breckinridge,  J.  C.,  H.  on,  in  campaign  of 
1860,  1,  115,  116;  defeat  of  Sigel  (1864), 
222;  Opequon,  239,  245. 

Breckinridge,  J.  C.,  at  H.'s  funeral,  2,  443. 

Bright,  Jesse,  political  ethics,  1,  438  n. 

Briukerhoff,  Roeliff,  tribute  to  H.,  2,  406. 

Bristow,  B.  H.,  as  candidate  for  presidential 
nomination  (1876),  character,  1,  418;  Cur 
tis  on  candidacy,  434;  chances  of  success  if 
nominated,  435  n.-437  n. ;  H.  on  candidacy, 
431;  speech  nominating,  446;  in  balloting, 
448-451;  withdrawn,  451;  and  Conkling, 
515;  and  H.  during  disputed  election,  517  n. 

Brooks,  James,  H.  on,  1,  278  n. 


Brooks,  Phillips,  Slater  Fund,  2,  352  n. 

Broomall,  J.  M.,  aphorism,  1,  316. 

Brough,  John,  H.  on  election  (1863),  1,  214, 
304;  War  Democrat,  301. 

Brougham,  Lord,  Story  on,  1,  35. 

Brown,  A.  G.,  on  duty  to  freedmen,  1,  313. 

Brown,  Abigail  (Hitchcock)  [Mrs.  Ezekiel 
Hayes],  1,  5. 

Brown,  Harrison,  in  West  Virginia,  disci 
plined  (1862),  1,  160. 

Brown,  J.  C.,  commission  to  Louisiana  (1877), 
2,  45,  54. 

Brown,  J.  Y.,  conference  with  H.'s  friends  on 
Southern  policy,  1,  533,  534,  2,  66,  67. 

Brown,  John,  H.  on,  as  hero,  1,  352. 

Bryan,  G.  M.,  H.'s  friendship,  1,  25,  2,  423; 
on  H.  and  sectional  societies  at  college,  1, 
27;  H.'s  visit  (1849),  48-54;  future  homeon 
Colorado  River,  51;  secession  letter  to  H., 
121;  on  Sardis  Birchard,  378  n.;  on  effect  on 
South  of  Democratic  success  (1S76),  494  n.; 
from  H.  (1884)  on  election,  2,  368. 

Bryant,  W.  C.,  conference  of  Republican  re 
formers  (1876),  1,  430. 

Buchanan,  James,  H.  on  campaign  of  1856, 

1,  106,  107. 

Buckhannon,  W.  Va.,  Federal  troops  at 
(1861),  1,  131. 

Buckland,  R.  P.,  H.'s  law  partner,  1, 46;  and 
H.'s  presidential  candidacy,  433;  consulted 
on  Cabinet,  2,  17. 

Buckner,  S.  B.,  at  Southern  dinner  in  New 
York  (1889),  2,  387  n.;  on  negro  problem, 
388  n. 

Buell,  D.  C.,  H.  on  removal,  1,  204. 

Buffalo  Commercial  Advertiser,  on  H.'s  silver 
wedding,  2,  319  n. 

Bull  Run,  H.  on  first  battle,  1, 127;  on  second 
battle  and  retreat,  189-193. 

Bullock,  A.  H.,  conference  of  Republican  re 
formers  (1876),  1,  430. 

Bullock,  R.  B.,  from  H.  (1887)  on  definite  re 
tirement,  2,  369. 

Burchard,  H.  C.,  and  election  investigation 
(1878),  2,  156. 

Burns,  — ,  H.  on  appointment,  1,  347  n. 

Burnside,  A.  E.,  popularity  with  troops,  1, 
196;  H.  on,  as  general,  204;  H.  on  Frecl- 
ericksburg,  206;  and  French  Panama 
Canal,  2,  218. 

Burt,  S.  W.,  contest  over  appointment  as 
Naval  Officer,  2,  92-94;  H.'s  order  for  re 
form  in  custom  house,  95  n. 

Bushnell,  Horace,  Emerson  on,  1,  62. 

Butler,  B.  F.,  H.'s  antagonism,  1,  383;  of 
Potter  Committee,  2,  157;  Gettysburg  ora 
tion,  255;  H.  on  (1878),  267;  H.  on  hatred 
as  certificate  of  good  character,  429  n. 

Butler,  S.  P.,  at  H.'a  reunion  of  Literary 
Club,  2,  323. 

Butler  County  Democrat,  on  reconstruction 
amendments,  1,  361. 

Butterfield,  Daniel,  at  Southern  dinner  in 
New  York  (1889),  2,  387  n. 

Butterworth,  Benjamin,  to  H.  (1879)  on  con 
test  with  Congress,  2,  207  n. 

Cabinet,  building  of  H.'s,  names  considered, 

2,  17,  286,  287;  principles  of  appointment 
to,  18,  109  n.;  invitation  to  Shern.an,  18; 
to  Schurz,  reply,  19,  20;  question  of  J.  E. 
Johnston,  20;  Key  as  Southern  representa 
tive,  21;  attempts  at  dictation,  22;  other 
selections,  22;  opposition  in  Senate  to  con 
firmation,  23-28,  82,83  n.;  public  opinion, 
26,  27,  29;  H.  on  opposition,  28;  character, 
29-32  ;  changes,  32  n.,  223;  on  Bland  Silver 


456 


INDEX 


Bill,  123,  124;  and  French  Panama  Canal 
221  n.;  character  of  meetings,  303;  H.' 
personal  relations,  422. 

Cable,  G.  W.,  on  Mrs.  Hayes,  2,  317  n. 

Caldwell,  Archibald,  Union  man,  rescue  o 
family,  1,  185. 

Calhoun,  J.  C.,  anecdote  of  presidential  can 
didacy,  2,  327  n.;  and  reconciliation  with 
Clay,  327  n. 

Calhoun,  J.  C.,  at  Southern  dinner  in  New 
York  (1889),  2,  387  n. 

California,  on  coin  basis,  1,  396;  H.'s  visit,  2 
293.  See  also  Chinese. 

Cameron,  Don,  withdraws  Hartranft's 
name  (1876),  1,  452;  and  H.'s  Cabinet 
2,  22;  election  to  Senate,  28  n. 

Cameron,  Simon,  H.  on  resignation  (1862) 
1,  161;  post-election  emissary  to  H.,  514  n. 
515;  opposition  to  H.,  and  Cabinet  appoint 
ments,  2,  16,  22,  26,  27,  29,  227;  resigns 
from  Senate,  28  n. ;  and  Grant's  candidacy 
(1880),  237  n.,  240  n. 

gamp  Chase,  Ohio,  1,  125. 
amp  Ewing,  W.  Va.,  1,  151. 

Camp  Hastings,  Md.,  1,  263. 

Camp  Hayes,  W.  Va.,  1,  158. 

Camp  Jackson,  Ohio,  1,  125. 

Camp  Maskell,  W.  Va.,  1,  204. 

Camp  Piatt,  W.  Va.,  1,  226. 

Camp  Reynolds,  W.  Va.,  1,  207. 

Camp  Tompkins,  W.  Va.,  1,  144,  147. 

Camp  Union,  W.  Va.,  1,  157. 

Camp  White,  W.  Va.,  1,  208. 

Campbell,  Hugh,  from  H.  (1885)  on  legality 
of  his  election,  1,  538. 

Campbell,  J.  E.,  in  campaign  of  1892,  2,  376 

Campbell,  L.  D.,  and  reconstruction  amend 
ments,  1,  361. 

Canada,  H.  on  annexation,  2,  377. 

Canby,  Israel,  in  West  Virginia  (1862),  1, 206. 

Canton,  Ohio,  union  of  23d  Regiment  (1880), 
H.'s  speech,  2,  288,  291,  292. 

Carlisle  Indian  School,  beginning,  2,  229. 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  Emerson  on,  1,  62,  63,  65. 

Carnifex  Ferry,  battle,  1,  135-138. 

Carpenter,  F.  B.,  H.'s  criticism  of  Emancipa 
tion  Proclamation  painting,  1,  282  n. 

Carrington,  H.  W.,  in  West  Virginia  (1862), 
1,  179. 

Carter,  D.  K.,  on  veto  of  Army  Appropria 
tion  Bill  (1879),  2,  186  n. 

Cary,  S.  F.,  candidacy  for  Congress  (1867), 

1,  328;   for  Lieutenant-Governor   (1875), 
inflationist,  388,  391,  393,  405;  and  school 
issue,  398. 

Casey,  T.  L.,  and  Washington  Monument, 

2,  225  n.,  226  n. 

Caskie,  R.  A.,  in  West  Virginia  (1862),  1, 160. 

Cass,  Lewis,  H.  on,  1,  102. 

Cavalry,  H.  on,  for  West  Virginia  operations, 
1,  159,  172;  inferiority  of  Federal,  192. 

Cedar  Creek,  Federal  position,  1,  253;  Sheri 
dan's  departure,  254;  Early's  plan,  255; 
surprise  and  retreat,  255-258;  Sheridan's 
ride,  258-260;  H.  on  situation  when  Sheri 
dan  arrived,  259  n.;  Federal  attack,  Con 
federate  retreat,  260,  261;  relative  conduct 
of  corps,  262,  264. 

Centennial  Exposition,  Ohio  and,  1,  409,  412; 
Ohio  Day,  H.  at,  485-488. 

Chamberlain,  D.  H.,  rival  government  in 
South  Carolina,  2,  35;  as  burden  to  H.'s 
administration,  39  n.;  Matthews'  letter 
and  reply,  42-44;  conference  with  H.,  49- 
51;  final  plea  for  support,  52;  surrenders 
government,  53;  address,  53;  later  review 
of  fall,  53  n.  See  also  South  Carolina. 


Chamberlain,  J.  L.,  on  H.  and  Loyal  Legion, 
2,  344  n. 

Chandler,  Abigail  [Mrs.  Israel  Smith],  1,  10. 
Chandler,  Isaac,  1,  10. 

Chandler,  W.  E.,  and  Conkling,  1,  515;  from 
H.  (1876)  on  sending  a  representative  to 
Washington,  519  n.;  and  New  Hampshire 
election  (1877),  on  bargain  with  Louisiana 
Returning  Board,  2,  89  n.,  145,  146; 
charges  against,  as  visiting  statesman  in 
Florida,  159,  160. 

Chandler,  Zachariah,  as  manager  of  Repub 
lican  campaign  (1876),  1,  471-473,  482  n. 
Channing,  W.  E.,  H.  on,  1,  71,  79. 
Charity,  H.  and  Ohio  State  Board,  1,  349, 
409;  repeal  and  renewal  of  board,  409,  410. 
Charleston,  W.  Va.,  Federal  camp  (1863),  1, 

208. 
Charleston  News  and  Courier,  on  suppression 

of  negro  vote  (1878),  2,  266  n. 
Charlottesville,  H.'s  visit,  2,  250,  253. 
Charlottesville  Chronicle,  on  Reconstruction 

Acts,  1,  311. 

Chase,  S.  P.,  lawyer  in  Cincinnati,  1,  57: 
Rosetta     fugitive-slave      case,     94;     and 
military  commissions  for  Matthews  and 
Hayes,  122  n. ;  H.  on  Chief-Justiceship,  265; 
on  negro  suffrage,  318;  and  "new  depar 
ture"  (1871),  356;   H.'s  friendship,  2,  421. 
Chattanooga,  H.'s  visit  (1877),  2,  250. 
Chautauqua,  H.'s  interest,  2,  433. 
Cherokee  Nation  v.  Georgia,  Wirt's  speech, 

1,45. 

Cheyenne,  H.'s  visit,  2,  293. 
Chicago,  free  silver  meeting  (1877),  2,  119; 

H.'s  speech  (1878),  261,  262. 
Chicago    Times,  on  negro  suffrage,  1,  317; 

on  inflation  issue  in  Ohio  (1875),  392. 
Chicago  Tribune,  on  H.  and  miners'  strike 

(1876),  1,  439. 

Chickamauga,  H.  on  battle,  1,  213. 
Child,  F.  J.,  on  H.'s  Cabinet  appointments, 

2,  29  n. 

Children,   Emerson  on  cultivation  of    im 
agination,  1,  63  . 

Chillingworth,  William,  H.  on  study,  1,  30. 
Chinese  immigration,  Republican  platform 
on  (1876),  1,  445;  California  agitation 
against,  2,  211;  Federal  investigation,  212; 
demand  for  change  in  treaty,  212;  [bill  to 
restrict,  212;  H.'s  attitude  and  veto  as 
violating  treaty,  213-217;  new  treaty  per 
mitting  exclusion,  217. 

Chiriqui  Grant,  and  French  Panama  Canal, 
2,  219  n. 

hoate,  Rufus,  H.  on,  as  political  speaker, 
1,  35;  H.  on  career,  72  n. 
Cholera,  in  1849,  1,  49,  54. 
hristiansburg,  Va.,  Federal  raid  (1864),  1, 
221. 

incinnati,  economic  and  social  life  (1850), 
1, 55,  56,  60;  and  slavery  question  then,  56; 
lawyers  then,  57;  Literary  Club,  58,  59,  62, 
2, 323;  H.as  City  Solicitor,  1, 108, 109,  118, 
119;  Know-Nothings  and  Republicans 
(1859),  110;  Lincoln's  address  (1859),  111: 
peace  meeting  (1860),  116;  reception  of 
Lincoln  (1861),  118;  Fort  Sumter  and  first 
call  for  troops,  119-121:  volunteer  home 
company,  121;  dangers  from  Kentucky 
(1861),  121  n.;  Liberal  Convention  (1872), 
366;  Republican  National  Convention 
(1876),  441-453;  H.'s  visit  (1877),  2,  247. 
Cincinnati  Commercial,  on  H.'s  Pearisburg 

raid,  1,  175  n.;  on  H.  as  officer,  202. 
Cincinnati  Enquirer,  on  H.'s  sound-money 
" hobby,"  2,  263  n.;  on  Mrs.  Hayes,  307  n. 


INDEX 


457 


Cincinnati    Gazette,   on   H.'s   candidacy  foi 
Governor  (1875),  1,  386;  on  his  attitud 
towards  disputed  election,  499. 
Cincinnati  Literary  Club,  1,  58,  59,  62;  re 
union  at  White  House,  2,  323. 
Cincinnati    Times,    on    H.'s   candidacy   for 

Governor  (1875),  1,  386. 
Cincinnati  Tribune,  tribute  to  H.,  2,  408  n. 

409  n. 

Cipher  Dispatches,  deciphering,  2, 161 ;  revela 
tions  on  Florida  and  South  Carolina,  162 
163;  effect,  Tilden's  denial  of  knowledge, 
163-167;  congressional  investigation,  165; 
political  results,  168. 
Cities.    See  Local  government. 
Civil  rights,  Declaration  of  Independence  on 
equality,  1,  294,  2,  295;  repeal  of  Ohio's 
black  code,  1,  329;    Lincoln's   principles, 
2,  273;  H.  on  influence  of  reconstruction 
measures,  281.    See  also  Negroes,  Recon 
struction. 
Civil  Rights  Bill,  significance  of  Johnson's 

veto,  1,  285. 

Civil  service,  power  of  removal,  1,  43;  H. 
on  reform  of  State  (1870),  340;  on  fixed 
salaries  for  State  and  local,  342;  H.  and  re 
form  of  State,  347;  H.  on  need  of  Federal 
reform  (1872),  37 i;  H.  and  congressional 
patronage  and  dictation,  371,  461,  2,  70 
73,  83,  84,  87,  90,  97,  106;  Democratic 
spoils  system  in  Ohio  (1875),  1,  403;  char 
acter  of  H.'s  appointments  as  Governor, 
410;  Republican  address  on  reform  (1876), 
430;  platforms  on  reform,  445,  467,  2,  73; 
H.'s  letter  of  acceptance  on  reform,  1,  460, 
463,  475  n.;  reform  and  single  term  of 
presidency,  461, 463,  2,  9,  378,  379;  H.  and 
political  assessments  during  campaign, 
482;  H.'s  inaugural  on,  aphorism,  2,  8,  9, 13; 
his  reform  plan,  69;  underestimation  of 
difficulties,  69;  grip  of  spoils  system,  69-71; 
earlier  efforts  for  reform,  commission 
under  Grant,  71-73,  100-102;  situation 
confronting  H.,  73,  74;  field  for  executive 
reform  measures,  74,  100;  H.'s  policy  of 
appointments  and  removals,  75,  80,  83,  84, 
89,  108-110;  H.  and  nepotism,  75,420;  re 
form  in  departmental  offices,  76,  102;  in 
vestigations  of  New  York  Custom  House, 
77,  9 1 ;  reform  order  on  custom  houses, 
reception,  77-79 ;  general  order  against 
political  participation  and  assessments, 
political  effect,  enforcement,  attempted 
repudiation  in  Congress,  79,  85  n.,  86  n., 
89-91,  103,  379;  similar  order  under  W. 
H.  Harrison,  79  n.;  H.'s  messages  on  re 
form,  83-85,  98-107;  his  efforts  to  revive 
commission,  85,  103,  105;  removal  of 
New  York  Custom-House  officials,  con 
test  in  Senate,  85-94;  H.  and  reformers, 
86  n.,  88  n.;  reform  in  New  York  Post- 
office,  93,  96,  102;  H.  on  correct  princi 
ples  of  public  service,  94,  99;  reform  or 
ders  to  new  New  York  custom  officials, 
results,  95,  96  n.,  102;  results  of  H.'s 
reform  policy,  95  n.,  107-111,  227, 
362  n.,  403,  430;  H.  on  public  opinion 
and  reform,  97;  on  competitive  examina 
tions,  98,  99,  102,  104,  105;  reform  ignored 
in  1880,  104;  H.  on  repeal  of  Tenure-of- 
Office  Act,  106;  on  use  of  patronage  to 
influence  legislation,  110  n.;  his  final  ap 
pointments,  327;  Conkling-Garfield  row, 
362  n.;  H.  on  progress  of  reform  and 
his  share  in  it  (1884),  362  n.;  on  lesson 
of  assassination  of  Garlield,  364  n.;  on 
Arthur's  message  (18S1),  365;  on  Cleveland 


and  reform,  368,  379;  on  Harrison's  policy, 
374,  375. 

Civil  Service  Commission,  origin  (1871),  2, 
71,  101;  failure  to  support,  72,  101,  102; 
H.'s  efforts  to  revive,  85,  103,  105. 
Civil  War,   Fort  Sumter  and  first  call,  en 
thusiasm  in  Cincinnati,  1,  119-121;  H.'s 
enlistment,    121-125;  dangers  to  Cincin 
nati    (1861),     121    n.;    organization    and 
camp  life  of  23d  Ohio,   125-128;  H.  on 
first  Bull  Run,  127;  Rosecrans'  West  Vir 
ginia    operations    (1861),    128-143,    150- 
156;  guerrillas  in  West  Virginia,  130,  131, 
162-166,  170;  H.  on  Confederate  soldiers, 
138,    154;   hardships,   sickness,    139,    140, 
142;   H.   on  false  reports  of  suffering  of 
Federal  soldiers  (1861),  144-146,  151,  152; 
Ball's  Bluff,   146,   147;  inactivity  of  Mc- 
Clellan,  147,  161,    165;   H.  on  attitude  of 
Southern  people  (1861),  151,  156;  (1862), 
159,  164,  168,  169;  Port  Royal,  154;  Fed 
eral  winter  operations  in  West  Virginia 
(1861-62),    154-161;     Trent    affair,     156; 
prices  in  South  (1862),  158;  Federal  con 
trol  of  West  Virginia,  158;   preparations 
for    Tennessee    campaign    (1862),      158; 
contrabands    in  West  Virginia,  158,  161, 
221  n.;  need  of  cavalry  in  West  Virginia 
operations,    159;    Fremont's   department, 
164,  167,  168;  Pea  Ridge,  165;  H.'s  opti 
mism    (1862),  168,  169,  180-182;    (1863), 
213;  draft  in  South,  168,  169;  Federal  raid 
on  Pearisburg  and  retreat  (1862),  169-177; 
Cox's  campaign  around  Flat  Top  Moun 
tain,  176-187;  H.  on  Peninsular  operations. 
178,    180,     181:    on    pro-slavery    Federal 
generals,  179;  Cox's  plan  for  holding  East 
Tennessee    and    Virginia    Railroad,    180; 
Morgan's  raids  (1862),  184;  (1863),  210- 
212;  march  of  Cox's  troops  to  Washing 
ton,  188,  189;  army  arrangements  at  Wash 
ington   (1862),   189;    H.   on  Second  Bull 
Run  and  retreat,  189-192;  Bragg's  Ken 
tucky  campaign,   191-193  ;  popularity  of 
Eastern  generals,  192;  Antietam  campaign, 
193-201 ;  H.  on  changes  in  commands,  204; 
Stuart's   Pennsylvania  raid    (1862),   204; 
Fredericksburg,  206;  H.  on  emancipation, 
206;  Federal  line  in  West  Virginia  (1863), 
207,  208,  213;  H.  on  reaction  favoring  war 
policy,  208;   on  negro  soldiers,  209;  Jen- 
kins'  raid  on  Point  Pleasant,  209;  Federal 
raids  against  East  Tennessee  and  Virginia 
Railroad    (1863),   211,  214;    (1864),  217- 
222;  Hunter's  Valley  campaign,  222-226; 
H.  on  final  exertion  of  Confederacy,  226, 
227;  Early's  campaign  against  Washing 
ton,  227 ;  Sheridan's  command  in  the  Valley, 
first  movements,  227-238;  Opequon,  238- 
246,  251;  Fisher's  Hill,  247-251;  destruc 
tion  in  the  Valley,  252;  Cedar  Creek,  252- 
262;   Richmond  campaign,   270,   271;   H. 
on  significance  and  commemoration  (1868), 
350-352;  on   nationalism   as  outcome,  2, 
270-274,  292  n.,  341;  on  Gettysburg  and 
Lincoln,   255;   H.   and  pensions,  338;   H. 
and  reunions,   character  of  his  speeches, 
338-343,  393;  H.  on  larger  results  and  com 
plete  success,  340  n.,  341,  342,  343  n.;  on 
gain  of  South  through,  342;  H.  and  Loyal 
Legion,  343-346.  See  also  Peace  Demo- 
crats,  Reconstruction,  Secession. 
Clark,    Edward,    and    Washington    Monu 
ment,  2,  225  n. 

lark,  J.  O.,  on  Mrs.  Hayes,  2,  307  n. 
larke,  J.  E.,  from  H.  (1886)  on  Washington 
Monument,  2,  226  n. 


458 


INDEX 


Clarke,  R.  W.,  H.  on,  1,  277. 

Clarkson,  J.  S.,  supports  Elaine  (1892),  2 

376. 

Clay,  Henry,    H.  on  defeat  (1844),  1,  100 

and  reconciliation  with  Calhoun,  2,  327  n 

Clayton,   Powell,  fears  for  patronage  unde: 

H.,  1,  515. 

Clement,  H.  S.,  and  79th  Regiment,  1,  185 
Clemmer,  Mary,  on  Mrs.  Hayes,  2,   299  n. 

300  n. 
Clendenin,  Dr.W.  M.,in  West  Virginia  (1861) 

1,  145. 

Cleveland,  Grover,  H.  and  pension  vetoes,  2, 
339,  369,  373;  and  H.  at  Grant's  funeral 
359  n.;  H.  on  campaigns  (1884),  367,  368 
(1888),  370-373;  (1892),  37.5-377;  H.  on 
and  civil  service  reform,  368,  379;  H.  on 
first  administration,  368,  3G9,  374;  H.  on 
tariff  message,  370  n.;  at  Centennial  of 
Washington's  Inauguration,  386;  at  H.'s 
funeral,  399,  446;  action  criticized  by 
partisan  press,  399  n.;  Cleveland  Hickory 
at  Spiegel  Grove,  446. 
Cleveland  Leader,  on  H.'sPearisburg  raid,  1, 

175  n. 
Clifford,  Nathan,  of  Electoral  Commission, 

1,  530  n. 
Clinch,  Mary,  witness  in  Summons  case,  1, 

92. 

Cloyd  Mountain,  battle,  1,  218-222. 
Clubs,  Emerson  on  London,  1,  61. 
Cockneyism,  Emerson  on,  1,  62. 
Collier,  G.  W.,  on  fall  of  Richmond,  1,  270. 
Colombia,     American     canal      negotiations 

(1880),  2,  224.  See  also  Panama. 
Colorado,  campaign  (1876),  1,  484. 
Colquitt,  A.  H.,  welcomes  H.  (1877),  2,  250; 

Slater  Fund,  352. 

Columbus,  Ohio,  farewell  reception  to  H. 
(1877),  2,  3;  H.'s  speech  (1880),  289-291. 
Comly,  J.  M.,  major  of  23d  Ohio,  1,  150; 
camp  at  Raleigh  (1861-62),  157,  158,  160; 
return  from  leave  of  absence,  168;  West 
Virginia  operations  (1862),  172,  173,  179, 
182,  183,  186;  South  Mountain,  200;  An- 
tietam,  201;  lieutenant-colonel,  202;  on 
Lincoln  and  colors  of  the  23d,  203;  on  Me- 
Kinley  in  Antietarn  campaign,  205  n.  ; 
and  Jenkins'  raid  (1863),  209;  on  railroad 
raid  (1864),  221;  on  incident  before  Lynch- 
burg  (1864),  224  n.;  on  the  retreat,  226  n.; 
on  Kernstown,  230  n.;  on  confidence  in 
Sheridan  and  Crook,  233  n.;  on  incident 
at  Berryville,  236  n.;  on  Grant's  lack  of 
display,  238  n.;  on  charge  at  Opequon, 
244;  on  Fisher's  Hill,  249  n.,  250  n.;  on 
ignoring  of  Crook's  corps  by  newspapers, 
250  n. ;  on  destruction  in  the  Valley,  252  n. ; 
on  Custer's  defeat  of  Rosser,  253  n.;  on 
Federal  retreat  at  Cedar  Creek,  255  n., 
256,  258;  on  Sheridan's  arrival,  259;  on 
Federal  attack,  261;  and  H.'s  interests 
during  contested  election,  519  n.,  2,  422; 
to  H.  (1879)  on  Grant's  attitude  towards 
candidacy,  236  n.;  H.'s  friendship,  422. 
Commerce.  See  Economic  conditions,  Rail 
ways. 

Compromise,  H.'s  opposition  (1861),  1,  117. 

Comstock,  Leander,  at  college,  1,  27. 

Concord,  N.  H.,  H.'s  speech  (1877),  2,  244. 

Confederation,  Story  on  weakness,  1,  42. 

Confederate  soldiers,  H.  and  relief,  2,  239  n. 

Congress,  Thirty-ninth:  task,  1,  277;  H.  on 

Ohio  delegation,  277;  Republican  caucus, 

joint  committee  on  reconstruction,  plan  for 

representation     based    on    suffrage,    278, 

279;  suffrage  in  District  and  Territories, 


279;  H.  on  Johnson  and,  279,  280,  284, 285; 
H.'s  defense  of  reconstruction  policy,  280, 
283-288;  H.'s  analysis  of  policy,  Fourteenth 
Amendment,  287,  308;  Reconstruction 
Acts,  310,  311. 

Forty-fourth:  failure  of  Army  Appropria 
tion  Bill,  2,  81;  Chinese  immigration,  212. 
See  also  Election  of  1876. 

Forty-fifth:  opposition  to  H.'s  Southern 
policy,  2,  16,  43;  Senate  opposition  to  Cab 
inet  appointments,  23-29;  extra  session, 
81;  complexion,  81;  special  message,  82; 
Republican  opposition  to  H.,  reasons,  82, 
83;  message  on  civil  service  reform,  83; 
Senate  contest  over  New  York  Custom 
House  removals,  86-94;  Bland  Silver 
Bill,  115,  120,  124-126;  attempt  to  repeal 
Resumption  Act,  115,  129;  messages  on 
resumption  and  free  silver,  115-119,  131; 
concurrent  resolution  for  payment  of  bonds 
in  silver,  128;  repeal  of  retirement  of 
greenbacks,  129;  movement  for  election 
fraud  investigation,  Maryland  memorial, 
146-148,  156  n.;  House  resolution  for  in 
quiry,  150-157;  testimony  before  Potter 
Committee,  157-161;  Cipher  Dispatches, 
165;  contest  over  appropriation  bills, 
riders,  170-173,  190-192;  Democratic  pol 
icy  of  coercion  through  refusing  supplies, 
172;  message  on  enforcement  of  war 
amendments,  174-176;  Chinese  immigra 
tion,  212-217. 

Forty-sixth:  messages  on  civil  service  re 
form,  2,  98-107;  messages  on  resumption, 
silver,  retirement  of  greenbacks,  133-137; 
Refunding  Bill,  veto,  137-140;  special  ses 
sion  on  appropriation  bills,  173;  com 
plexion,  177;  message  at  special  session, 
177;  Democratic  programme  of  coercion 
through  riders,  178;  H.'s  determination 
to  resist  this,  179-185;  vetoes  of  appropria 
tion  bills  with  riders  on  reconstruction 
measures,  185-195,  197-203,  205  n.;  veto 
of  separate  bill  on  use  of  army  during 
election,  195-197;  Democratic  backdown, 
199,  204;  act  forbidding  use  of  troops  at 
polls  as  police  force,  200,  201  n.;  Panama 
Canal,  218-222,  224;  Ponca  Indians,  332. 
Donkling,  A.  R.,  at  Southern  dinner  in  New 
York  (1889),  2,  387  n. 

onkling,  Roscoe,  H.  on,  in  Congress  (1865), 
1,  278  n. ;  candidacy  for  presidential  nom 
ination  (1876),  character,  418;  and  reform 
ers,  431;  Curtis  on  candidacy,  434;  prob 
able  results  of  nomination,  435  n.-438  n.; 
speech  nominating,  446;  in  balloting, 
449-452;  conduct  during  campaign,  post 
election  emissary  to  H.,  506  n.,  514-516; 
and  formation  of  H.'s  Cabinet,  opposition 
to  continuation,  515,  2, 16,  24,  29,  235  n.; 
attitude  in  electoral  count  contest,  1, 
521  n.,  524;  contest  over  removal  of  New 
York  Custom  House  officials,  2,  86-94; 
general  opposition,  227,  228,  235;  and 
Grant's  candidacy  (1880),  234,  237  n., 
239  n.;  H.  on  character  (1888),  235  n.; 
and  nomination  of  Arthur,  238,  239;  H.  on 
Garfield  row,  362  n.  ;  H.  on  Arthur  and 
(1881),  362, 364;  H.  on  hatred  as  certificate 
of  good  character,  429  n. 
Conover,  S.  B.,  fears  for  patronage  under  H., 
1,  515;  and  appointment  of  McLin,  2, 149. 
Constantin,  Grand  Duke,  dinner  at  White 

House,  2,  312  n. 

Constitutions,  H.  on  tendency  to  over  regu 
lation,  1,  341.  See  also  Federal  Constitu 
tion. 


INDEX 


459 


Contrabands,  H.  on,  in  West  Virginia,   1 

158,  161,  221  n. 

Conway,  M.  D.,  H.'s  friendship,  2,  421. 
Cook,   Isaac  [1],   Revolutionary  soldier,   1 

78  n. 
Cook,   Isaac  [2],   Revolutionary  soldier,  1, 

78  n. 

Cook,  Isaac  [3],  career,  1,  77,  78  n. 
Cook,  Isaac  [41,  at  H.'s  wedding,  1,  81. 
Cook,  Maria  [Mrs.  James  Webb],  1,  77. 
Cooper,  Edward,  and  Cipher  Dispatches,  2, 

166. 
Copperheads,  H.  on  reaction  against,  1,  208. 

See  also  Peace  Democrats. 
Corbin,  D.  T.,  and  Matthews'  letter  to  Cham 
berlain  (1877),  2,  43. 
Corbin,  H.  C.,  at  H.'s  funeral,  2,  399. 
Corcoran,  W.  W.,  and  Washington  Monu 
ment,  2,  226  n.;  and  H.,  312  n. 
Cornell,  A.  B.,  on  expected  Republican  suc 
cess  (1876),  1,  495;  conduct  during   cam 
paign,  506;  and  H.'s  reform  order,  2,  85; 
contest  over  removal,  85—94. 
Corruption,  H.  on,  at  elections,  1, 332;  in  looal 
administration,   344,   404;   legislative,    as 
issue  in  Ohio  (1875),  389  n.;  address  of  Re 
publican  reformers  (1876),  430. 
Corry,  W.  M.,  and  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill, 

1,  105. 

Corwin,  Thomas,  as  speaker,  1,  32;  campaign 
for  Governor  (1840),  98;  and  Kentucky, 
352. 
Corwine,  R.  M.,  H.'s  law  partner,  1,  94;  H. 

on,  as  major,  147. 
Covington,  S.  F.,  suggests  H.  for  President, 

1,  422. 

Cowles,  Edwin,  from  H.  (1876)  on  presiden 
tial  candidacy,  1,  432;  on  candidacy  of 
Elaine  and  H.,  453  n. 

Cox,  J.  D.,  in  West  Virginia  campaign  (1861), 
1,  135,  136,  139;  H.  on  (1862),  104;  in  Fre 
mont's  army,  164;  West  Virginia  opera 
tions  (1862),  176;  escapes  capture,  176  n.; 
as  reader,  180;  plan  for  holding  Knoxville- 
Richmond  railroad  (1862),  180;  march  to 
Washington,  188,  189;  and  Reno-Hayes 
incident,  194  n.-196  n.;  in  Antietam  cam 
paign,  196;  South  Mountain,  198;  on  23d 
Ohio  at  South  Mountain,  200;  commands 
corps,  200;  message  to  H.  after  South 
Mountain,  201;  to  H.  on  colonelcy,  202; 
return  to  West  Virginia,  204;  candidacy 
for  Governor  (1865),  276;  as  Governor, 
290;  to  H.  (1876)  on  disputed  election, 
498  n.;  consulted  on  H.'s  Cabinet,  2,  17; 
of  Potter  Committee  (1878),  157;  at  re 
union  of  23d  Ohio  (1877),  247;  H.'s  friend 
ship,  422. 
Coxe,  Magrane,  at  Southern  dinner  in  New 

York  (1889),  2,  387  n. 
Coyle,  J.  F.,  Cipher  Dispatches,  2,  162. 
Craig,  J.  M.,  on  Opequon,  1,  243  n. 
Crane,  Capt. ,  in  West  Virginia  (1861), 

1,  152. 

Crapo,  W.  W.,  and  French  Panama  Canal, 

2,  224. 

Crime.   See  Punishment. 

Crittenden  Compromise,  H.'s  opposition,  1, 
117. 

Croghan,  George,  Ft.  Stephenson  fight,  2, 
330. 

Croghan,  St.  George,  killed,  1,  153,  154. 

Cronin,  E.  A.,  and  disputed^election  in  Ore 
gon,  1,  508  n. 

Crook,  George,  West  Virginia  operations 
(1862),  1,  182;  on  Reno-Hayes  incident, 
195  n.;  South  Mountain,  196;  commands 


Kanawha  forces,  215;  raid  on  East  Ten- 
nt-sseeand  Virginia  Railroad  (1864),  Floyd 
Mountain,  217-222;  Valley  campaign  un 
der  Hunter,  222-226;  independent  com 
mand,  226;  return  to  lower  Shenandoah, 
228;  Kernstown,  229,  230;  under  Wright, 
230;  H.  on  forces  under,  237;  Opequon, 
239-246,  251;  Fisher's  Hill,  247-251; 
Cedar  Creek,  254-262,  264;  winter  quar 
ters,  263;  vote  (1864),  264;  and  promotion 
of  H., 265;  capture,  267,  268 n.;  exchange, 
268;  in  final  Richmond  campaign,  268, 
270,  271;  Indian  campaigns,  2,  228;  Ponca 
Indian  Commission,  231  n.;  H.'s  friend 
ship,  421;  praise  of  H.,  431  n. 
Crook,  W.  H.,  on  Winnie  Monroe,  2,  301  n.; 

on  Mrs.  Hayes'  Christmas  giving,  311  n. 
Crump,  W.  T.,  as  steward  of  White  House, 

2,  301. 

Cullom,  S.  M.,  veto  of  Illinois  silver  legal 
tender  bill,  2,  114  n.;  entertains  H.  (1879), 
282. 
Cumback,  W.  M.,  withdraws  Morton's  name 

(1876),  1,  451. 
Currency.    See  Inflation,  Paper  money,  Re 
sumption,  Silver. 
Curry,  J.  L.  M.,  Slater  Fund,  2,  353;  at  H.'s 

funeral,  400. 

Curtis,  G.  W.,  on  condition  of  Republican 
party  (1876),  1,  415  n.;  on  Sherman's  ad 
vocacy  of  H.'s  nomination,  426  n.;  corre 
spondence  with  Dickson  on  H.  and  Stal 
warts,  434,  435  n.;  reform  address  in  Re 
publican  Convention,  444;  seconds  Bris- 
tow's  nomination,  446;  on  H.'s  letter  of 
acceptance,  466  n.;  on  Democratic  plat 
form,  467;  H.'s  campaign  correspondent, 
470  n.;  on  H.'s  conduct  during  campaign, 
470  n. ;  on  doubt  of  election,  492  n. ;  on  H.'s 
and  Tilden's  conduct  during  disputed  elec 
tion,  499  n.;  and  Conkling,  515;  on  elec 
toral  count,  534  n.;  on  H.'s  inaugural,  2, 
15  n.;  on  Senate  opposition  to  Cabinet 
appointments,  28  n.;  Civil  Service  Com 
mission,  72;  on  congressional  opposition 
to  H.  (1877),  83  n.;  from  H.  (1877)  on 
loyalty  to  reform,  88  n.;  on  H.  and  civil 
service  reform,  96  n,,  111  n.;  on  Tilden  and 
Cipher  Dispatches,  167  n.;  on  attempt  to 
repeal  Federal  election  laws,  181;  on  H. 
and  contest  with  Congress,  205 n.;  from  H. 
(1892)  on  term  of  presidency,  378,  379. 
See  also  Harper's  Weekly. 
urtis,  S.  R.,  Pea  Ridge,  1,  165. 
Ouster,  G.  A.,  defeat  of  Rosser,  1,  253;  Cedar 
Creek,  254. 

Dana,  C.  A.,  on  H.  as  presidential  possibility 
(1875),  1,  424;  on  prospects  of  H.'s  nomi 
nation  (1876),  439,  440.  See  also  New 
York  Sun. 

Dana,  R.  H.,  Jr.,  on  Harvard  Law  School  un 
der  Greenleaf  and  Story,  1,  31;  lecture  on 
loyalty,  36;  seconds  nomination  ot  bristow 
(1876),  446;  on  H.'s  letter  of  acceptance, 
463  n. 

Danes,  battle  of  Loncart,  1,  1,  2. 

Darrall,  C.  B.,  and  J.  E.  Anderson,  2,  158. 

Dartmouth  College  case,  Webster's  speech, 
1,  45;  H.  on,  as  a  mistake,  2,  384. 

Davis,  David,  and  Liberal  nomination  (1872), 

1,  366;   and  Electoral  Compassion,   529, 
537;  and  commission  to  Louisiana  (1877), 

2,  45. 

Davis,  Mrs.  Eliza  G.,  from  H.  (1892)  on  de 
parted  friends,  2,  396  n. 
Davis,  J.  C.  B.,  H.  on  appointment,  2,  89  n. 


460 


INDEX 


Davis,  Mrs.  J.  C.  B.,  at  dinner  with  H.,  2, 
327  n. 

Davis,  John,  entertains  H.  (1877),  2,  248; 
at  H.'s  silver  wedding,  318;  H.'s  friendship, 
421. 

Davis,  Noah,  at  Southern  dinner  in  New 
York  (1889),  2,  387  n. 

Dawes,  E.  C.,  on  plundering  by  Cox's  divi 
sion,  1,  195  n.;  at  H.'s  funeral,  2,  400. 

Dawes,  H.  L.,  tribute  to  H.,  2,  407,  408. 

Day,  Alfred,  in  Pearisburg  raid  (1862),  1, 
172. 

Day,  T.  C.,  and  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill, 
1,  105. 

Dayton,  unveiling  of  soldiers'  monument, 
H.'s  speech,  2,  246. 

Debating,  interest  of  H.,  1,  22. 

Debt.     See  Public  debt. 

Declaration  of  Independence,  Story  on  en 
actment,  1,  41;  H.  on  equality  of  rights  as 
essence,  294,  2,  295. 

De  Forest,  J.  W.,  on  Opequon,  1,  244. 

Defrees,  J.  D.,  H.  on  appointment,  2,  89  n. 

Delano,  Columbus,  H.  on,  1,  277. 

Delaware,  Ohio,  Hayes  family,  1,  6. 

Delay,  A.  W.,  on  H.'s  staff,  1,  240  n. 

Deming  family  in  Vermont,  Russell 
try,  1,  8  n. 

Democratic  party,  H.  on  character  (1852), 

1,  102.  See  also  Congress,  Elections,  Peace 
Democrats. 

Dennis,  L.  G.,  "  confessions"  of  Florida  Re 
turning  Board,  2,  149. 

Dennison,  H.  M.,  fugitive-slave  case,  1,  94, 
95. 

Dennison,  William,  campaign  for  Governor 
(1859),  1,  110;  military  commissions  for 
Matthews  and  H.,  124,  125;  reviews  23d 
Regiment,  128;  correspondence  with  H. 
during  disputed  election,  497,  516,  529  n.; 
conference  with  Southerners  on  H.'s  pol 
icy,  534. 

Denver,  H.'s  visit,  2,  293. 

Depew,  C.  M.,  H.  on  presidential  candidacy 
(1888),  2,  370-372;  at  Southern  dinner  in 
New  York  (1889),  387  n. 

Detroit,  H.'s  speech  (1879),  2,  276-281. 

Devens,  Charles,  Ball's  Bluff,  1, 146;  appoint 
ment  to  H.'s  Cabinet,  2,  22;  confirmed,  28; 
character  as  member  of  Cabinet,  31;  and 
Southern  policy,  45;  and  Bland  Silver  Bill, 
123;  and  veto  of  Army  Appropriation  Bill, 
186  n.;  entertains  H.  at  home,  242;  visit  to 
Montpelier,  264  n.;  humor,  303  n.,  304  n.; 
social  relations  with  H.,  310  n. 

Devol,  H.  F.,  proposes  H.  for  Governor,  1, 
274. 

Dexter,  Samuel,  on  Hamilton,  1,  42;  and 
Hamilton's  financial  argument,  45. 

Diaz,  Porfirio,  and  United  States  (1876-81) , 

2,  209,  210. 

Dibble,  Abigail  [Mrs.  George  Hayes],  1,  3. 

Dickens,  Charles,  1,  70 ;  2,  437  n. 

Dickinson, .Wheeler's  secretary,  2, 3 10  n. 

Dickson,  W.  M.,  and  first-call  meeting  in 
Cincinnati,  1,  120;  Curtis  corresppndence 
(1876)  on  H.'s  candidacy  for  nomination, 
434,  435  n.-438  n.;  and  Lincoln,  436  n.; 
on  political  morals,  438  n.;  H.'s  friend 
ship,  2,  421. 

Disney,  D.  T.,  and  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill, 
1,  105. 

Disney,  William,  on  H.'s  election  as  City 
Solicitor,  1,  108  n. 

Disraeli,  Benjamin,  Emerson  on,  1,  65. 

District  of  Columbia,  Congress  and  suffrage 
(1866),  1,  279. 


Dix,  J.  A.,  and  reconstruction,  1,  283. 

Dodge,  W.  E.,  Slater  Fund,  2,  352. 

Donaldson,  Thomas,  from  H.  (1891)  on  ex 
penses  in  White  House,  2,  315  n. 

Dorsey,  G.  V.,  War  Democrat,  1,  301. 

Dorsey,  S.  W.,  fears  for  patronage,  515. 

Dorsheimer,  William,  on  search  of  H.'s  rec 
ord,  1,  473. 

Douglas,  S.  A.,  H.  on  Pierce  and  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Bill,  1,  105;  Party  of  Perma 
nency,  110;  H.  on  campaign  of  1860,  115, 
116;  on  Civil  War,  301,  323;  H.  on  (1880), 
2,  283. 

Douglass,  Frederick,  and  H.'s  Southern  pol 
icy,  2,  11  n. ;  appointment  as  Federal  mar 
shal,  44;  on  Mrs.  Hayes,  317  n. 

Downing,  Oliver,  from  H.  (1889)  on  aid  for 
Confederate  veterans,  2»  339  n. 

Draft  in  South,  enforcement  and  refugees, 
1,  168,  169. 

Drake,  J.  L.,  in  West  Virginia  operations 
(1861),  1,  138  n.;  (1862),  182,  183;  in 
Pearisburg  raid  (1862),  173,  174,  177;  raid 
on  salt  works,  187;  South  Mountain,  199. 

Dred  Scott  decision,  and  Republican  party, 
1,  113. 

Dresbach, ,  Cincinnati  physician,  1,  48. 

Dublin,  Va.,  Federal  raid  (1864),  1,  219. 

Duluth,  H.'s  investments,  1,  379. 

Dunlevy,  J.  C.,  and  79th  Ohio,  1,  187. 

Dunning' s   Continentals,  in  West    Virginia 


(1861),  1,  134. 

Du  Pont,  H.  A.,  at  Cedar  Creek,  1,  256 
Dutton,  A.  R.,  at  H.'s  reunion  of  Literary 


L.,  at  Cedar  Creek,  1,  256,  261. 


Club,  2,  323. 
Duval,  I.  H.,  Opequon,  wounded,  1,  241,  245. 

Early,  J.  A.,  pursuit  of  Hunter  (1864),  1, 
224,  225;  Washington  campaign,  227-229; 
Kernstown,  229;  Valley  movements,  232, 
235-238;  Opequon,  238-246;  Fisher's  Hill, 
247-251;  advance,  253;  Cedar  Creek,  253- 
262. 

East  Tennessee  and  Virginia  Railroad,  Fed 
eral  movements  and  plans  against  (1862), 

1,  173,  180;  Federal  raids  (1863),  211,  214; 
(1864),  217-222. 

Eaton,  D.  B.,  on  H.  and  civil  service  reform, 

2,  107  n. 

Economic  conditions,  H.'s  inaugural  on  de 
pression,  2,  9;  H.  on  returning  prosperity. 
257-259,  269,  277,  283;  on  labor  condi 
tions  and  excessive  wealth,  381-385.  See 
also  Finances,  Railways. 

Edmunds,  G.  F.,  Electoral  Commission  Bill, 
1,  524,  525  n.;  of  Electoral  Commission, 
530  n.;  on  justice  of  H.'s  election,  535  n.;  to 
H.  (1877)  on  opposition  in  Senate,  2,  28  n.; 
presidential  candidacy  (1880),  237;  (1884), 
366. 

Education,  Sparks  on  colonial,  1,  33;  H.  on, 
and  suffrage,  318;  sectarian  interference 
with  public  schools  as  issue  in  Ohio  (1875), 
387-391;  H.'s  speech  on  issue,  397-401; 
effect  of  parochial  schools,  398;  Republican 
platform  on  grants  to  sectarian  (1876), 
445;  H.'s  letter  of  acceptance  on  this,  461; 
H.'s  efforts  for  Federal  aid,  especially  in 
South,  2,  8,  288-292,  293  n.,  349-351,  365, 
368;  H.  and  Indian,  228,  291;  Jefferson  and 
Madison  on  public,  292;  universal,  as  es 
sence  of  Ordinance  of  1787,  296;  H.  and 
Peabody  and  Slater  funds,  350-354;  H. 
and  college  courses,  356;  his  advocacy  of 
manual  training,  356,  357. 

Edwards,  Jonathan,  Sparks  on  character, 
1,33. 


INDEX 


461 


Eggleston,  Benjamin,  and  nomination  of  H 
for  Governor  (1875),  1,  385;  and  H.'s  presi 
dential  candidacy,  443  n. 

Eggleston,  Edward,  on  Mrs.  Hayes,  2,  317  n 

Eighth  Corps.   See  Crook. 

Eighty-ninth  Ohio,  prank  of  23d  Ohio  on,  1, 
205. 

Election  laws.     See  Federal  election  laws. 

Election  of  1876,  campaign:  Democrats 
search  of  H.'s  record,  slanders,  1,  379  n. 
473-475,  485;  Ohio  Republican  platform 
on  third  term  (1875),  387;  Ohio  election 
(1875)  as  skirmish,  389,  391  n.;  Ohio  cam 
paign  and  H.'s  candidacy,  405-407,  423- 
425;  real  contest  for  Republican  nomina 
tion,  414;  condition  of  Republican  party, 
causes,  414-417;  of  Democratic  party, 
417;  character  of  Republican  aspirants, 
Elaine,  418;  Conkling,  418;  Morton,  419; 
Bristow,  419:  room  for  available  candidate, 
H.  as  such,  420,  431,  433  n.,  437  n.,  438, 
439,  447,  453;  Sherman's  letter  advocating 
H.'s  nomination,  reception,  420,  426;  H.'s 
attitude  (1869-76),  421^26;  H.  as  pas 
sive  candidate  only,  425,  427,  429,  429  n., 
431-438,  441  n.:  doubtful  States  and  can 
didates,  Republican  ticket  forecast,  426; 
H.  on  sound  money  as  issue,  427,428, 429  n. ; 
H.  on  Republican  prospects  (March), 
429;  New  York  conference  and  address  of 
Republican  reformers,  430,  437  n.;  Ohio 
endorses  H.'s  candidacy,  431,  432,  441; 
H.  on  Elaine's  candidacy,  432;  Curtis- 
Dickson  correspondence  on  H.  and  Stal 
warts,  434,  435  n.;  H.  and  independents, 
435  n.,  436  n.;  choice  of  Cincinnati  for 
convention,  441;  H.  and  vice-presidential 
nomination,  442;  H.  as  general  second 
choice,  442,  443,  454  n.;  attitude  of  Ohio 
delegation,  442;  opening  of  Republican 
Convention,  platform,  443^145,  2,  73,  221; 
nominating  speeches,  1,  445-448;  ballot 
ing,  448-452;  nomination  of  H.,  452;  vice- 
presidential  nomination,  452;  wisdom  of 
Republican  ticket,  453;  management  of 
H.'s  forces  in  convention,  453  n.;  his  atti 
tude  during  convention,  454;  and  on  nomi 
nation,  454,  456,  458;  H.  urges  campaign 
without  personalities,  459 ;  notification, 
H.'s  reply,  455,  456;  popular  reception  of 
nomination,  456;  his  letter  of  acceptance, 
civil  service  reform,  resumption,  South, 
459-465,  468,  2,  73;  reception  of  letter,  1, 
465,  466;  Democratic  Convention  and 
candidates,  466;  platform,  467;  Tilden's 
letter  of  acceptance,  467 ;  Democratic  drift, 
469;  Tilden's  conduct  during  campaign, 
469  n.;  H.'s  conduct,  470;  Chandler  as 
Republican  manager,  471-473;  H.  and 
civil  service  reform  issue,  assessments, 
475  n.,  482;  South  as  issue,  478,  481  n., 
484,  490;  H.'s  attitude  towards  prospects, 
478,  479,  479  n.,  480  n.,  483,  484,  486,  489, 
490;  October  elections,  use  of  money,  478- 
481,  484-186;  possible  Republican  States 
in  South,  485;  H.  on  possible  contest  and 
Republican  loss  through  fraud,  486,  488; 
H.  at  Centennial,  486-488;  H.  on  probable 
electoral  vote,  489. 

Dispute:  significance  of  settlement  of  dis 
pute,  H.  on  this,  1,  491,  535  n.,  2,  10,  11, 
14;  H.'s  conduct  during  post-election  days, 
1,  491-500;  probable  effect  on  South  of 
Democratic  victory,  493,  494  n.,  508;  H. 
and  visiting  statesmen,  his  attitude  on 
honest  count,  495  n.,  498  n.,  500;  rumor  of 
nonpartisan  electoral  vote  by  Lowell,  H.  on 


this,  499,  500;  Lowell  on  it,  500  n.;  H.  and 
legal  determination  of  vote,  500-502;  H.'a 
conviction  of  Republican  success,  reports 
of  visiting  statesmen  on  Louisiana,  502- 
504,  506,  507,  508  n.,  H.  and  Southern 
emissaries,  504,  505,  516  n.;  attempt  to 
alienate  Grant  from  H.,  505,  506  n.;  H.  on 
Oregon  contest,  508,  509;  investigation  in 
Congress,  509;  problem  of  right  to  count 
the  vote,  509,  513;  H.  and  contest  in  Con 
gress,  511-513;  H.  and  Stalwart  emissary, 
refusal  to  commit  himself,  514-516;  H. 
and  question  of  personal  representative 
at  Washington,  516-519;  attitude  of  Grant, 
516  n.,  519  n.;  claim  of  the  House,  518  n.; 
public  demand  for  settlement  of  dispute, 
519;  influences  on,  and  attitude  of,  South 
ern  Congressmen,  520,  532  n.;  H.'s  refusal 
of  commitments  on  South,  520;  Republi 
can  opposition  to  compromise  and  Com 
mission,  521,  526  n.,  529  n.,  H.'s  attitude 
on  same,  522-524,  524  n.,  525  n.,  527,  528; 
Schurz    on    advantages    of    Commission, 
523  n.;  Commission  Bill  and  debate,  524- 
527;  limitation  to  authority  of  Commission, 
525;  Grant  on  Commission,  527;  fifth  jus 
tice,  Davis,  Bradley,  529,  530;  members 
of  Commission,  530  n.;  decisions,  refusal 
to  go  behind  the  returns,  530-532;  H.  oa 
Florida  decision,  531  n.;  attempted  fili 
buster,  532;  conference  of  Southerners  and 
H.'s  friends,  assurance  on  Southern  policy, 
question  of  bargain,,  533,  534,  2,  66,  67; 
justice    of   Commission's   decisions,    H.'s 
conviction  of  legality  and  fairness  of  elec 
tion,   1,  535-540,  2,   144;   significance  of 
party  action  in  1880,  1,  539,  2,  168,  238, 
239,  369,  370;  results  and  State  govern 
ments  in  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina, 
35,  63,  63  n.;  consistency  of  H.'s  Southern 
policy  with  electoral  count,  38-40;  Federal 
offices  for  Returning  Board  officials  and 
visiting  statesmen,  108;  Democratic  fraud 
issue,    142;  prosecution  of  Louisiana  Re 
turning  Board,   143;  charges  of  bargains 
with  returning  boards,  145,  150,  157-160; 
movement  for  congressional  inquiry (1878), 
146,   148;  Maryland  memorial  on  fraud, 
146-148,  156  n.;  public  alarm  over  reopen 
ing  of  question,  148;  Democratic  resolu 
tions  for  House  inquiry,  150,  151;  H.  on 
threat  of  investigation,  150  n.;  debate  on 
resolutions,   151;    Republican  address  on 
partisan  and  revolutionary  purpose,  1 52;  H. 
and  Key  on  revolutionary  purpose,  152  n., 
154,  155  n.;  Democratic  opposition  to  in 
vestigation,   153;  Potter  on  purpose,  153, 
154;  denial  of  purpose  to  impeach  H.'s 
title,  156,  157;  members  of  Potter  Com 
mittee,  157;  testimony,  157-161;  publica 
tion  of  Democratic  cipher  dispatches,  161; 
their   revelation    on    Florida   and    South 
Carolina,  162,  163;  effect  of  revelation,  Til 
den's  denial  of  knowledge,  163-166:  Potter 
Committee   investigation    of    dispatches, 
165;   results  of   Potter  Committee,    167- 
169;  H.  on  verdict  of  election  of  1878,  268. 
Elections,  H.  and  date  of  State,  in  presiden 
tial  years,  1,  412,  483,  484  n.  —  (1840) 
in  Ohio,  1,  26;  H.  on  campaign,  97,  98.  — 
(1844)  speakers  in  Mass,  campaign,  34, 
35,  40,  44;  sectional  skirmish  at  Harvard, 
41;  H.  on  and  in  "campaign,  99,   100.— 
(1848)  H.  in  campaign,  100.  —  (1852)  H. 
on  and  in   campaign,   101-104.  —  (1856) 
H.  on  and  in  campaign,  106,  107.  —  (1860) 
H.  on  campaign,   115,   116.  —  (1862)   H. 


INDEX 


on  results,  204.  —  (1864)  importance  of 
Shenandoah  operations,  233;  H.  on  nomi 
nation  of  McClellan,  233  n.,  236-238;  H. 
and  congressional  nomination,  candidacy 
of  soldiers,  234,  235  n.;  Lincoln's  election 
expected,  252;  army  voting,  263;  H.  on 
Democratic  keynote,  304-306.  —  (1867) 
in  Ohio,  Democratic  platform,  290;  H.'s 
candidacy  for  Governor,  291,  292;  Repub 
lican  platform,  292;  issue,  293,  320;  H.'s 
speeches,  293-327;  election  of  H.,  327, 
328. —  (1868)IH.  on  Seymour's  nomination 
331.  —  (1869)  in  Ohio,  H.'s  renomination, 
and  speech  on  suffrage  and  financial  issues, 
334-337;  Democratic  platform  and  candi 
date,  election  of  H.,  338.  —  (1871)  in  Ohio, 
H.'s  speech  on  Democratic  "new  depar 
ture,"  354-361.  —  (1872)  H.  on  Liberal 
convention,  1, 366 ;  on  Greeley  as  candidate, 
367;  on  Republican  convention,  367;  on 
prospects,  367,  368;  his  speech  on  issue, 
369-372;  on  Republican  success,  375,  376. 
—  (1873)  in  Ohio,  380.  —  (1874)  in  Ohio, 
381. —  (1875)  in  Ohio,  H.'s  nomination 
for  Governor,  382-387;  inflation  and 
school  issues,  387,  391,  392;  H.'s  prepara 
tion  for  campaign,  389-391;  his  speeches, 
392-405;  other  Republican  speakers, 
405;  election  of  H.,  405-407;  H.  in  Penn 
sylvania  campaign,  407.  —  (1876).  See 
above.  —  (1877)  H.  on,  2,  82,  89  n.,  90.  — 
(1878)  H.  on,  131,  267.  —  (1880)  relation 
of  candidates  to  election  of  1876  and  H.'s 
administration,  1,  539,  2,  168,  238,  239; 
civil  service  reform  ignored,  104;  Demo 
cratic  manoeuvred  for  an  issue,  171,  185; 
H.'s  attitude,  233;  Republican  aspirants, 
H.  on  them,  233  n.,  234-237;  Grant's  atti 
tude  (1879),  235  n.,  236  n.;  voting  in 
Republican  Convention,  Garfield's  nomi 
nation,  237;  H.  on  convention  and  nomi 
nation,  237  n.,  239;  Republican  platform 
on  H.'s  administration,  238;  H.  and  cam 
paign,  288,  297;  result  as  vindicating  H.'s 
administration,  298,  369,  370.  —  (1884) 
H.  on  campaign  and  results,  366-368.  — 
(1888)  H.  and  candidacy,  369;  H.  on  cam 
paign  and  results,  370-373.  —  (1889)  in 
Ohio,  374,  375.  —  (1890)  H.  on  congres 
sional,  375.  —  (1892)  H.  on  campaign, 
375-377. 

Electoral  Commission.   See  Election  of  1876. 

Eliot,  C.  W.,  on  H.'s  Cabinet  appointments, 
2,  29  n. 

Eliot,  W.  G.,  to  H.  (1877)  on  Louisiana  con 
ditions,  2,  46  n.-49  n. 

Elizabeth  of  Ipswich  (1634),  1,  8. 

Ellen,  J.  S.,  on  H.  and  march  to  Washington 
(1862),  1,  188;  on  South  Mountain,  200  n. 

Elliot, ,  and  sectional  feeling  at  Kenyon 

(1839),!,  26. 

Emancipation,  H.  on  policy,  1,  206;  develop 
ment  of  policy,  301;  opposition  of  Peace 
Democrats,  302-306.  See  also  Negroes, 
Slavery,  Thirteenth  Amendment. 

Emerson,  R.  W.,  lectures  in  Cincinnati, 
H.  on,  as  lecturer,  1,  61,  64;  H.  on  appear 
ance,  61;  H.  on  conversations, -61-63,  65; 
talk  on  London  clubs,  61;  on  English  gen 
tlemen,  61;  on  Macaulay,  62,  63,  65;  on 
Prince  Albert,  62;  H.  on  his  philosophy, 
62,  63,  65,  66;  on  Beecher,  62;  on  Bushnell, 
62;  on  London  society,  62;  on  Carlyle  and 
cockneyism,  62,  63,  65;  on  lack  of  imagi 
native  Americans,  63 ;  on  autobiographical 
character  of  all  imaginative  writings,  Sand, 
Shakespeare,  63;  on  cultivating  imagina 


tion  in  children,  63;  H.  on  leading  ideas, 
64;  on  Disraeli,  65;  influence  of  writings  on 
H.,  2,  433. 

Emory,  W.  H.    See  Nineteenth  Corps. 

English- American  Colonies,  Sparks'  lecture 
on,  1,  33. 

Equality  of  rights,  as  essence  of  Declaration 
of  Independence,  1,  294,  2,  295;  as  idea  of 
Civil  War,  343. 

Evarts,  W.  M.,  argument  before  Electoral 
Commission,  1,  531  n.;  on  popular  accep 
tance  of  decision  of  disputed  election, 
535  n.;  appointment  to  H.'s  Cabinet,  2, 17, 
19;  opposition  to  confirmation,  24-29,  82, 
362  n. ;  character  as  member  of  Cabinet, 
29;  and  Matthews'  letter  to  Chamberlain, 
42,  44;  and  Southern  policy,  45;  instruc 
tions  to  commission  to  Louisiana,  54—56; 
and  civil  service  reform,  76;  and  Bland 
Silver  Bill,  123;  on  H.'s  contest  with  Con 
gress,  173  n.,  185  n.,  186  n.,  205  n.;  and 
Halifax  Award,  208;  and  Mexico,  210: 
and  Chinese  immigration,  214-216;  and 
French  Panama  Canal,  221  n.,  224;  and 
resignation  of  Thompson,  223;  entertains 
H.  at  Windsor,  242;  in  H.'s  Southern  trip 
(1877),  248  n.;  humor,  304  n.;  social  rela 
tions  with  H.,  305;  at  dinner  with  H., 
327  n.;  Peabody  Education  Fund,  351;  at 
Southern  dinner  in  New  York  (1889) ,  387  n. 

Evidence,  Story  on,  1,  32. 

Ewing,  Hugh,  in  West  Virginia  campaign 
(1861),  1,  137;  treatment  of  soldiers,  146; 
on  Hayes-Reno  incident,  194;  commands 
brigade,  200. 

Ewing,  Thomas  [1],  on  H.  as  lawyer,  1,  91; 
case  with  H.,  92,  93;  asks  withdrawal  of 
Emancipation  Proclamation,  437  n. 

Ewing,  Thomas  [2],  candidacy  for  presiden 
tial  nomination  (1876),  1,  437  n. 

Examinations,  H.  on,  in  civil  service,  2,  98, 
99,  102,  104,  105. 

Exhibitions,  H.  on  college,  1,  23. 

Fair  Oaks,  battle,  1,  178. 

Farrer,  Nancy,  H.'s  defense,  1,  86-91. 

Fayetteville,  W.  Va.,  Federal  winter  quar 
ters  (1861),  1,  153-156. 

Federal  Constitution,  Story  on  Abolitionists 
and,  1,  36;  on  ratification  debates,  settled 
questions,  power  of  removal,  annexation, 
postal  monopoly,  43;  Story  and  strict 
construction,  43;  H.  on  Madison  and,  2, 
264,  265;  on  essence,  296.  See  also  Amend 
ments  by  number. 

Federal  election  laws,  Democratic  attempts 
to  repeal  through  riders  (45th  Congress), 
2,  170-173;  arguments  on,  171,  172;  H.'s 
attitude,  173-177,  182,  183,  198;  renewal 
of  Democratic  programme  (46th  Con 
gress),  178;  H.'s  plan  to  resist  coerced  re 
peal,  179-185;  State  rights  and  proposed 
repeal,  181,  185;  modified  bills  as  riders, 
vetoes,  198,  205  n.;  veto  of  bills  forbidding 
appropriation  to  execute,  200-204;  refusal 
of  appropriation  for,  204 ;  failure  of  Demo 
cratic  programme,  204.  See  also  Voting. 

Fenton,  R.  E.,  International  Silver  Confer 
ence,  2,  127  n. 

Ferry,  T.  W.,  social  relations  with  H.,  2, 
310  n. 

Fessenden,  W.  P.,  of  Committee  on  Library 
(1866),  1,  281. 

Fiction,  Emerson  on  autobiographical  char 
acter,  1,  63;  H.'s  reading,  70;  H.  on  loose, 
71  n.,  79. 

Field,  D.  D.,  and  disputed  election,  2,  147. 


INDEX 


463 


Field,  S.  J.,  of  Electoral  Commission,  1, 530 n. 

Fifteenth  Amendment,  attitude  of  Ohio 
parties,  1,  334,  338;  Grant  on,  335;  rati 
fied  by  Ohio,  346;  H.  on  significance  and 
results  (1870), 353,  354;  (1872),  369;  Demo- 

•  cratic  opposition  (1871), 358-361;  and  Fed 
eral  election  laws,  2,  188.  See  also  Recon 
struction,  Suffrage. 

Fifth  Ohio,  in  West  Virginia  campaign  (1861) , 
1,  134. 

Fifth  Virginia  (Federal),  in  West  Virginia 
(1863),  1,  208;  (1864),  217,  221;  Opequon, 
244. 

Fifty-first  Virginia,  in  West  Virginia  (1862), 
1,  184. 

Finances,  H.  on  reaction  (1869),  1,  335;  on 
Democratic  legislation  in  Ohio,  335;  on 
improvement  under  Grant  (1872),  370; 
on  cycle  of  conditions,  278.  See  also  Bank 
ing,  Bonds,  Economic  conditions,  Inflation, 
Paper  money,  Public  debt,  Resumption, 
Taxation. 

Finck,  W.  E.,  and  Iron-clad  Oath,  1,  284. 

Fish,  Hamilton,  and  inauguration  of  H.,  2, 
5  n.;  on  Tilden  and  Cipher  Dispatches, 
165  n.;  Peabody  Education  Fund,  351. 

Fisher's  Hill,  battle,  1,  247-251. 

Fitzhugh,  Henry,  in  West  Virginia  (1862),  1, 
171. 

Flat  Top  Mountain,  W.  Va.,  Federal  camp 
(1862),  1,  176-182. 

Flicklin,  A.  M.,  confidence  in  Southern  suc 
cess  (1861),  1,  151. 

Florida,  Federal  protection  in  election  of 
1876,  1,  489  n.;  and  electoral  count,  496, 
504;  decision  of  Electoral  Commission, 
530;  H.  on  decision,  531  n.;  overthrow  of 
carpetbag  government,  2,  34;  charge  of 
bargain  with  Returning  Board,  149,  159, 
160;  Cipher  Dispatches,  162. 

Floyd,  J.  B.,  West  Virginia  operations  (1861), 

1,  135-138,  150,  151. 

Flynn,-  Jacob,  fugitive-slave  case,  1,  94. 

Foley,  C.  F.,  guerrilla  in  West  Virginia,  agree 
ment  of  men,  1,  162  n.,  170. 

Foote,  A.  H.,  Russell  ancestry,  1,  8  n. 

Foraker,  J.  B.,  H.  on  candidacy  and  charac 
ter  (1889),  2,  374,  375;  supports  Elaine 
(1892),  376. 

Forbes,  J.  M.,  considered  for  H.'s  Cabinet, 

Force,  M.  F.,  lawyer  in  Cincinnati,  1,  57; 
from  H.  (1866)  on  Congress  and  recon 
struction,  280;  (1872)  on  candidacy  for 
Congress,  368;  (1873)  on  real  estate  ven 
tures  and  public  library,  377;  on  Sardis 
Birchard,  378;  correspondence  with  H. 
(1875)  on  presidential  candidacy,  425; 
consulted  on  H.'s  Cabinet,  2,  17;  from  H. 
(1877)  on  New  York  Custom  House  con 
test,  87  n.;  H.'a  offer  of  private-secre 
taryship,  302;  at  H.'s  silver  wedding,  318, 
319;  at  H.'s  funeral,  400;  H.'s  friendship, 
321  n.,  421. 

Force,  Peter,  H.  and  government  purchase 
of  collection.  1,  281,  282  n. 

Ford,  T.  H.,  on  sufferings  of  soldiers,  1,  145; 
on  reported  dismissal  after  Antietam  cam 
paign,  204. 

Foreign  relations,   H.  on  American  policy, 

2,  10;  on  his  appointments  to  missions, 
89  n.;  Halifax  Award,  208;  Mexican  raiders 
and    pursuit   over   border,  208-211;    Chi 
nese  immigration,  212-218;  Panama  Canal, 
218-224. 

Forest  Grove  Indian  School,  beginning,  2, 
229. 


Forney,  J.  W.,  to  H.  (1876)  on  conduct  dur 
ing  disputed  election,  1,  517  n. 

Forsyth,  J.  W.,  Opequon,  1,  241:  Cedar 
Creek,  260. 

Forty-fifth  Virginia,  West  Virginia  opera 
tions  (1862),  1,  172. 

Foster,  Charles,  and  nomination  of  H.  for 
Governor  (1875),  1,  385;  and  H.'s  letter 
of  acceptance,  460  n.;  conference  with 
Southerners  on  H.'s  policy,  533,  534,  2, 
66,  67;  opposes  retirement  of  greenbacks, 
129  n.;  at  H.'s  funeral,  399,  400. 

Foster,  J.  W.,  and  H.'s  Cabinet,  2,  23. 

Fourteenth  Amendment,  Republican  caucus 
on  representation  based  on  suffrage,  1, 
277-279;  H.  on,  as  prerequisite  of  recon 
struction,  281  n.;  on,  as  embodying  plan 
of  reconstruction,  287,  308;  on  objections 
to,  287;  on  proposed  withdrawal  of  Ohio's 
ratification,  330;  results  of  attempted 
withdrawal,  331,  334.  See  also  Negroes. 

Franchise.    See  Suffrage. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  Sparks  on,  as  writer,  1, 
33. 

Frederick,  Md.,  Federal  reoccupation  (1862), 
1,  196. 

Fredericksburg,  H.  on  battle,  1,  206. 

Freedmen.    See  Negroes. 

Freedmen's  Bureau,  significance  of  veto,  1, 
285. 

Frelinghuysen,  F.  T.,  and  disputed  election, 
1,  518  n.,  524  n.;  of  Electoral  Commission, 
530  n. 

Fremont,  J.  C.,  H.  on  campaign  of  1856,  1, 
106,  107;  reviews  23d  Ohio  (1861),  H.'s 
enthusiasm  over,  128,  167,  168;  com 
mands  Mountain  Department,  164,  167; 
on  H.'s  Pearisburg  raid,  176;  Valley  opera 
tions,  178; suspended,  180. 

Fremont,  Ohio,  return  of  H.  to  (1872),  1,  376; 
Birchard  Library,  376-379;  reception  to 
H.  on  nomination  (1876),  his  speech,  457- 
459;  H.'s  visits  during  presidency,  2,  246, 
262,  288,  297;  described,  329.  See  also 
Spiegel  Grove. 

French  Creek,  W.  Va.,  Federal  troops  at 
(1861),  1,  133. 

Friendship,  H.  on,  2,  420  n. 

Frye,  W.  P.,  and  H.'s  Cabinet,  2,  16  n.,  22; 
on  failure  of  reconstruction  (1877),  37  n. 

Fugitive-slave  law,  H.  in  Rosetta  case,  1, 
94,  95. 

Gaines,  Theophilus,  in  West  Virginia  cam 
paign  (1801),  1,  141. 

Gaines,  William,  anecdote  of  Mrs.  Hayes 
and,  2,  310  n. 

Gallagher,  T.  J.,  lawyer  in  Cincinnati,  1,  58; 
and  first-call  meeting,  120. 

Gallatin,  Albert,  Story  on,  as  financier,  1, 
44. 

Garfield,  J.  A.,  on  pro-slavery  officers,  1,  179; 
appearance  (1866),  277;  on  H.  in  Congress, 
281;  letters  with  H.  (1875)  on  Ohio  con 
test,  390,  391  n.;  with  H.  (1876)  on  mon 
ey  issue  and  H.'s  candidacy,  427,  428  n., 
432,  470  n.;  report  to  H.  on  contest  in 
Louisiana,  502  n.,  507;  to  H.  (1876)  on  at 
tempt  to  alienate  Grant,  506  n.;  on  forces 
for  peace  in  disputed  election,  520  n.; 
from  H.  on  Electoral  Commission  Bill, 
524  n.;  of  Electoral  Commission,  530  n.; 
conference  with  Southerners  on  H.'s  pol 
icy,  534;  nomination  (1880)  as  vindicating 
1876  results,  539,  2,  168,  238,  239,  369, 
370;  H.  and  candidacy  for  Senate  (1877), 
44  n.;  and  Potter  Committee  (1878),  151; 


464 


INDEX 


opinion  of  Anderson's  testimony,  159  n.; 
presidential  nomination,  237;  H.  on  nomi 
nation,  239,  240  n.;  omens  of  nomination, 
239  n.;  H.  and  election,  297;  and  wines  at 
White  House,  313  n.;  H.  at  and  on  funeral, 
2,  359,  364;  H.  and  memorial  fund,  359, 
429 n.;  H.  on  assassination,  362-364;  H.  on 
Conkling  row,  362  n. ;  H.'s  estimate,  364  n. 

Garrison,  W.  L.,  on  H.'s  Southern  policy,  2, 
65;  and  Chinese  immigration,  211. 

Gatch,  M.  D.,  and  Home  for  Soldiers'  Or 
phans,  1,  348  n. 

Gauley  River,  Rosecrans*  campaign  (1861), 
1,  130-138. 

Geghan  Law  in  Ohio,  1,  388;  H.  on,  399, 
400;  repealed,  410. 

Genealogy,  H.'s,  1,  1-14;  of  Mrs.  Hayes,  77, 
78  n.;  H.'s  interest,  2,  419. 

Geological  survey,  H.'s  advocacy  for  Ohio, 

1,  332,  347,  412. 

George,  Henry,  H.  and  theories,  2,  382,  383. 
Georgia,  conditions  (1867),  1,  309.    See  also 

Reconstruction . 
Gettysburg,   H.'s  visit  and  speech   (1878), 

2,  255. 

Gholson,  W.  Y.,  lawyer  in  Cincinnati,  1,  58. 

Giles  Court  House.     See  Pearisburg. 

Gillett,  L.  H.,  in  West  Virginia  (1861),  1, 133. 

Gilmore,  D.  C.,  Slater  Fund,  2,  352. 

Gilmore,  G.  W.,  in  West  Virginia  operations 
(1862),  1,  173,  182. 

Gladden,  Washington,  tribute  to  H.,  2,  402, 
403;  on  H.'s  religious  belief,  436. 

Gladstone,  W.E.,on  Federal  Constitution,  2, 
265. 

Glendale,  Ohio,  H.'s  political  speech  (1872), 
1,  369-373. 

Goepper,  Michael,  and  Home  for  Soldiers' 
Orphans,  1,  348  n.,  2,  396. 

Goethe,  J.  W.  von,  Longfellow  on  moral  ten 
dencies,  1,  44. 

Goff,  Nathan,  Secretary  of  Navy,  2,  32  n. 

Gordon,  J.  B.,  Opequon,  1,  239,  244,  245;  on 
Crook's  charge,  245  n.;  Cedar  Creek,  255; 
conference  with  H.'s  friends  on  Southern 
policy,  533,  534,  2,  42,  66,  67;  and  H.'s 
Cabinet  appointments,  29;  at  Southern 
dinner  in  New  York  (1889),  on  H.  as  Pres 
ident,  387  n.,  388  n. 

Government,  H.  on  tendency  to  enlarge 
functions,  1, 341 ;  Henry  Adams  on  failure  of 
American,  2,  327  n.  See  also  Civil  service, 
Congress,  Constitutions,  Finances,  Legis 
lature,  Local  government,  Reconstruction. 

Governors,  H.  and  portraits  of  Ohio,  1,349  n. 

Graham,  C.  K.,  contest  over  appointment 
as  Surveyor,  2,  92-94. 

Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  H.  on  "bloody 
shirt"  in,  2,  340  n.;  H.  at  encampment 
(1892),  393;  his  practice  to  walk  in  the 
ranks,  393  n.,  403 ;  McKinley's  address  on 
H.,  405. 

Granger,  Daniel,  as  schoolmaster,  1,  16. 

Granger,  M.  M.,  Loyal  Legion  minute  on 
H.,  2,  405. 

Grant,  U.  S.,  and  West  Virginia  operations 
(1864),  1,  217;  on  Hunter's  Valley  cam 
paign,  225  n.',  conference  with  Sheridan  at 
Charlestown,  238;  lack  of  display,  238  n.; 
and  exchange  of  Crook,  268;  H.  on  final 
victories,  270,  271;  on  conditions  in  South 
(1866),  309;  on  Sheridan  as  military  gov 
ernor  (1867),  321;  on  Fifteenth  Amend 
ment,  335;  and  final  reconstruction,  336, 
337;  and  civil  service  reform,  371,  2,  71- 
73,  101,102;  offers  office  to  H.,  1,  376;  H.'s 
attitude  (1875),  383;  failure  aa  President, 


415;  on  his  political  inexperience,  415  n.; 
Democratic  condemnation  (1876),  467; 
attempt  to  alienate  from  H.  during  dis 
puted  election,  505,  506  n. ;  attitude  during 
dispute,  516  n.,  519  n. ;  and  Electoral  Com 
mission,  527,  529  n. ;  threats  against  during 
disputed  election,  2,  1;  and  H.  before  in 
auguration,  state  dinner,  5;  and  military 
support  of  Louisiana  carpetbag  govern 
ment,  33  n.,  35;  and  Panama  Canal,  219, 
223;  candidacy  (1880),  233  n.,  234-237; 
attitude  towards  it  (1879),  235  n.,  236  n.; 
H.  on  candidacy,  237  n.;  H.'s  state  dinner 
for,  326;  Peabody  Education  Fund,  351;  H. 
at  and  on  funeral,  359, 359  n.;  H.  on  mon 
ument  fund,  359  n.;  on  character,  359  n.; 
H.'s  friendship,  421.  See  also  Elections 
(1868, 1872). 

Gray,  Thomas  (or  William),  in  West  Virginia 
(1862),  1,  161. 

Great  Awakening,  called  a  "stir,"  1,  11. 

Great  Britain,  Trent  affair,  1,  156;  Halifax 
Award,  2,  208. 

Great  Flat  Top  Mountain.   See  Flat. 

Greeley,  Horace,  H.  on  presidential  candi 
dacy,  1,  367,  372-374. 

Green  Meadows,  W.  Va.,  Federal  camp 
(1862),  1,  182-187. 

Greenbacks.     See  Paper  money. 

Greenleaf,  Simon,  Dana  on  Law  School 
under,  1,  31;  as  lecturer,  32;  on  necessity 
of  pleading,  36;  idea  of  lawyer,  39. 

Gresham,  W.  Q.,  presidential  candidacy,  2, 
367,  370  n. 

Groesbeck,  John,  Cincinnati  volunteer  home 
company,  1,  121. 

Groesbeck,  W.  S.,  lawyer  in  Cincinnati,  1, 
57;  International  Silver  Conference,  2, 
127  n. 

Grosvenor,  W.  G.,  and  Cipher  Dispatches,  2, 
162. 

Grover,  Cmvier,  Opequon,  1,  240. 

Grover,  L.  F.,  and  Oregon's  electoral  vote 
(1876),  1,  508. 

Guerrillas  in  West  Virginia,  1,  130,  131,  162- 
166,  170. 

Guilford,  William,  at  H.'s  reunion  of  Literary 
Club,  2,  323. 

Guthrie  Grays  (Sixth  Ohio) ,  in  West  Virginia 
campaign  (1861),  1,  132,  145. 

Guyandotte,  W.  Va.,  Confederate  raid  (1861), 

1,  153. 

Haldeman,  W.  N.,  and  H.'s  visit  to  Louisville, 
2,248. 

Haldimand,  Sir  Frederick,  Vermont  intrigue, 
1,9. 

Hale,  Eugene,  visiting  statesman  to  Louisi 
ana,  report  to  H.,  1,  507;  and  H.'s  Cabi 
net,  2,  22. 

Halifax  Award,  public  opinion,  payment,  2, 
208. 

Halstead,  Murat,  from  H.  (1866)  on  Four 
teenth  Amendment,  1,  281  n.;  (1871)  on 
retirement  from  public  life,  365  n.;  and 
H.'s  candidacy  for  Governor  (1875),  390; 
H.'s  campaign  correspondent  (1876), 
470  n.;  opposes  veto  of  Bland  Silver  Bill, 

2,  122  n.;  on  death  of  H.,  398. 
Hamilton,    Alexander,    Story   on   reach    of 

thought,  1,  42;  bank  argument,  42;  as  fi 
nancier,  44. 

Hamilton,  Gail,  in  campaign  of  1884,  2, 
367  n. 

Harrjin,  Hannibal,  and  H.'s  candidacy  for 
presidential  nomination,  1,  442;  and  Chi 
nese  immigration,  2,  213. 


INDEX 


465 


Hampton,  Wade,  on  Reconstruction  Acts, 
1,  311,  312;  rival  government  in  South 
Carolina,  2,  35;  interest  in  disputed  elec 
tion,  35;  popular  support,  49;  conference 
with  EL,  49-51;  pledge,  50  n.;  in  H.'s  South 
ern  trip,  248  n.,  249;  on  reunion,  250  n.;  on 
H.'s  services  to  South,  407.  See  also  South 
Carolina. 

Hancock,  W.  S.,  and  his  command  (1865), 
1,  269;  and  election  of  1876,  539,  2,  168  n.; 
H.'s  tribute,  409  n.;  H.'s  friendship,  421. 
See  also  Elections  (1880). 

Harlan,  J.  M.,  nominates  Bristow  (1876),  1, 
446;  withdraws  him,  451;  considered  for 
H.'s  Cabinet,  2,  17;  commission  to  Louisi 
ana  (1877),  45,  54;  H.  on  appointment  as 
Justice,  89  n.,  108. 

Harney,  W.  S.,  at  Austin  (1849),  1,  52. 

Harper, ,  of  23d  Ohio,  in  West  Virginia 

(1862),  1,  177. 

Harper's  Weekly,  on  Ohio  campaign  (1875), 

1,  407;  on  cause  of  Republican  condition 
(1875), 414  n.;  on  Tilden  and  Tweed, 418n.; 
on   Conkling  (1876),  418  n.;  on   Bristow 
in  Cabinet,  420  n.;  on  H.'s  inauguration, 

2,  5  n.,  6ra.;  on  Conkling  and  New  York 
Custom  House  appointments,  92;  on  veto 
of  Refunding  Bill,  140  n.    See  also  Curtis. 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  considered  for  H.'s 
Cabinet,  Morton's  antipathy,  2,  17,  23; 
H.  on,  as  presidential  possibility  (1884), 
367;  H.  on  campaigns  (1888),  370-373; 
(1892),  375-377;  H.  on  civil  service  policy, 
374,  375;  lack  of  tact,  375;  and  death  of 
H.,  399,  401. 

Harrison,  Mrs.  Benjamin,  H.  at  funeral,  2, 
360,  394. 

Harrison,  Russell,  at  Southern  dinner  in  New 
York  (1889),  2,  387  n. 

Harrison,  W.  H.,  H.  on  campaign  of  1840, 

1,  97,  98;  civil  service  reform  order,  2,  79  n. 
Harrison  Trail,  through  Spiegel  Grove,  2, 

332,  441,  445. 

Hartranft,  J.  F.,  candidacy  for  reelection  as 
Governor  (1875),  1,  407;  candidacy  for 
presidential  nomination,  448,  449,  452; 
and  H.'s  Cabinet,  2,  17. 

Hartridge,  Julian,  and  fraud  issue  (1878),  2, 
156. 

Harvard  University,  H.  in  Law  School  (1843- 
45),  Story  and  Greenleaf  as  professors,  1, 
30-45;  sectional  clash  (1844),  41;  honor 
ary  degree  for  H.,  2,  241. 

Haskell,  A.  C.,  and  H.'s  Southern  policy,  2, 
42. 

Hassard,  J.  R.  G.,  and  Cipher  Dispatches, 

2,  162. 

Hassaurek,  Frederick,  appointment  to  Bo 
livia,  1,  119;  on  Reconstruction  Acts,  315. 

Hastings,  Russell,  on  incidents  of  railroad 
raid  (1864),  1,  217  n.,  219  n.;  on  destroying 
railroads,  222  n.;  on  Antietam  battlefield 
(1864),  230  n.;  on  intercourse  of  skirmish 
lines,  235  n.;  of  H.'s  staff,  240  n.;  wounded 
at  Opequon,  245,  251,  263;  on  Gordon's 
account  of  Crook's  devils,  245  n.;  marriage 
in  White  House,  2,  322. 

Hatch,  J.  E.,  at  H.'s  reunion  of  Literary 
Club,  2,  323. 

Hawley,  J.  B.,  H.  on  appointment,  2,  89  n. 

Hawley,  J.  R.,  in  Republican  Convention 
(1876),  1,  444;  commission  to  Louisiana 
(1877) ,  2, 54 ;  on  work  of  commission,  59  n. ; 
H.  on  presidential  candidacy,  367,  370;  at 
Grand  Army  Encampment  (1892),  393  n. 

Hayes,  Abigail  (Dibble),  1,  3. 

Hayes,  Abigail  (Hitchcock    Brown),  1,  5. 


Hayes,  B.  A.,  birth,  1,  82;  at  father's  camp, 
207,  209,  215;  in  father's  Southern  trip, 
248  n.;  in  Western  trip,  281  n.;  in  Pacific 
Coast  tour,  293;  visits  to  White  House, 
301;  and  death  of  father,  397  n. 

Hayes,  Chloe  (Smith),  1,  5;  diary,  character, 
8,  10-12;  H.  on,  39;  clock,  2,  443. 

Hayes,  Daniel,  capture  by  Indians,  1,  3,  4; 
later  career,  4. 

Hayes,  Ezekiel,  career,  1,  5. 

Hayes,  Fanny,  at  White  House,  2,  300; 
christening,  319;  accompanies  father  in 
journeys,  393;  and  death  of  father,  398; 
portrait,  442. 

Hayes,  Frances  A.  [Mrs.  W.  A.  PlattJ,  child 
hood  with  H.,  traits,  1,  15-18;  biographi 
cal  note,  15  n.;  from  H.  (1850)  on  Emer 
son,  64;  at  H.'s  wedding,  81;  death,  H. 
on  loss,  83,  84;  and  H.,  2,  417. 

Hayes,  George,  immigrant,  career,  1,  3. 

Hayes,  Lorenzo,  1,  6. 

Hayes,  Lucy  W.  (Webb),  first  acquaintance 
with  H.,  1,  74-76;  character  in  college, 
74  n.;  engagement,  76;  ancestry,  77 ;  letters 
from  fiance,  78-81 ;  dislikes  to  write  letters, 
79;  charity,  81,2,  309;  marriage,  1, 81 ;  Cin 
cinnati  homes,  82,  83;  H.  on  early  married 
life,  82,  83;  children,  82,  83,  156;  war 
spirit,  121;  with  H.  at  training  camp,  128; 
incident  of  care  for  soldiers,  177  n.;  in 
Maryland  with  wounded  husband  (1862), 
201,  202  n.,  203;  at  husband's  headquar 
ters,  207,  209,  213-215;  kindness  to  sol 
diers,  207;  in  New  Orleans  (1866),  288; 
and  Home  for  Soldiers'  Orphans,  348  n.; 
on  being  humbled  by  attentions,  455  n.: 
effect  on,  of  supposed  defeat  of  husband 
(1876) ,  495,  508;  trips  with  husband  during 
presidency,  2,  241,  248  n.,  281  n.,  293;  and 
reunion  of  23d  Regiment  (1877),  247:  at 
tentions  on  Pacific  Coast  trip,  293,  294; 
dress  as  President's  wife,  299  n.,  311  n.t 
320,  323;  pen  portrait,  299  n.;  sonnet  on, 
300  n.;  guests,  301;  as  mistress  of  White 
House,  301,  418;  informal  evening  gath 
erings,  social  character,  306-308;  anecdote 
of  charity,  309  n.;  Sunday  evening  gather 
ings,  310;  holiday  observances,  311;  tem 
perance  regime,  312-315;  portrait  for 
White  House,  315;  address  of  commenda 
tion,  316;  silver  wedding,  318-321;  and 
burdens  of  position,  325,  326;  last  season 
in  White  House,  326;  accepts  invitations, 
327;  interest  in  husband's  activities,  386; 
at  Centennial  of  Washington's  Inaugura 
tion,  386;  last  illness  and  death,  888-390; 
mourning  for,  funeral,  390,  391;  memorial 
deaconess  training  school,  390  n,;  hus 
band's  tribute,  391,  392  n.',  domestic  rela 
tions,  417;  other  portraits,  442. 

Hayes,  Martha  (Holcombe),  1,  4. 

Hayes,  Mrs.  Mary,  1,  4. 

Hayes,  R.  B.,  early  years  and  professional 
life  (1882-1861):  Scotch  origin  of  family, 
1,  1,  2;  family  arms,  3;  ancestors  in  Amer 
ican  Revolution,  3,  5,  13,  14;  Hayes  ances 
try  in  America,  876 ;  parents,  6 ;  birth (1822) , 
posthumous  child,  6;  Russell  ancestry, 
6-8;  Smith  ancestry,  8-10;  paternal  grand 
mother,  Vermont  homestead,  10-13;  Bir- 
chard  ancestry,  13;  care  of  uncle,  14;  child 
hood  home  and  surroundings,  sister,  15- 
17,  2,  417;  school,  1,  16;  visits  to  Vermont 
(1834),  16;  (1844),  39;  academy,  17;  enters 
college,  18;  in  college,  19-28;  debating,  22; 
college  friends,  24,  25;  as  valedictorian,  28; 
law  reading  at  Columbus,  28-30;  at  Har- 


466 


INDEX 


vard  Law  School,  30-46;  outside  interests 
there,  31,  38,  40;  admitted  to  bar,  46;  at 
Fremont,  46;  poor  health,  proposed  enlist 
ment  in  Mexican  War,  46-48;  visit  to  Tex 
as  (1848-49),  48-54;  leaves  Fremont,  54; 
reason  for  removal  to  Cincinnati  ( 1849) ,  55, 
56;  early  routine  and  prospects  there,  57- 
59,  72;  in  Literary  Club,  59;  other  socie 
ties,  60;  Odd  Fellow  lectures,  60;  first  ac 
quaintance  with  Lucy  Webb,  74;  love  and 
engagement,  75-77,  79-81;  marriage,  81; 
homes  in  Cincinnati,  81,  83;  children,  82, 
83,  156,  209,  257  n.;  early  practice  in  Cin- 
cinnati,|85,  86;  defense  of  Nancy  Farrer,  in 
sanity,  86-91 ;  of  James  Summons,  criminal 
procedure,  91,  92;  first  Federal  Court  case, 
railway  bridge  over  navigable  waters,  92; 
partnership,  94;  Rosetta  fugitive-slave 
case,  94,  95;  success  as  lawyer,  95,  108; 
Whig,  97;  in  campaign  of  1844,  "Ohio" 
banner  incident,  99,  100;  of  1848,  100;  of 
1852,  101-104;  influence  on,  of  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Bill,  104-106;  in  campaign  of 
1856, 106-108;  and  American  party,  106  n., 
110;  City  Solicitor,  108,  109;  beginning  of 
political  luck,  108  n.;  declines  to  run  for 
State  Supreme  Court  (1859),  109;  trip  to 
Canada  (1860),  114;  in  campaign  of  1860, 
135,  116;  and  peace  meeting,  117;  of  Lin 
coln  reception  committee  (1861),  118;  de 
feated  for  reelection  as  Solicitor  (1861), 
118,  119;  new  professional  arrangement, 
119. 

Military  life:  at  first-call  meeting,  1, 120; 
plans  for  service,  121-124;  spirit  of  enlist 
ment,  122;  major  of  23d  Ohio,  organiza 
tion,  camp  life,  124-128;  sent  to  West  Vir 
ginia,  128,  129;  character  of  regiment,  129; 
as  judge-advocate-general,  130,  138-140, 
142,  143;  advance  to  Gauley  River,  130- 
135;  Carnifex  Ferry,  135-138;  first  winter 
quarters,  140;  lieutenant-colonel,  147, 
150;  skirmishes  and  pursuit  of  Floyd,  150, 
151,  153-156;  winter  quarters  at  Fayette- 
yille,  commands  post,  154,  156,  160;  chas 
ing  guerrillas,  162-165;  leave  of  absence 
(1861),  164;  (1862),  203;  (1864),  267;  in 
command  at  Raleigh,  164,  165;  commands 
regiment  (1862),  165;  raid  to  Pearisburg, 
169-173;  retreat,  173-177;  reported  wound 
ed,  176;  question  of  colonelcy  in  another 
regiment,  184,  187,  188,  192,  201,  202; 
camp  at  Flat  Top  Mountain,  177,  181; 
command  at  Green  Meadows,  182;  rescue 
in  force  of  Caldwell  family,  185;  destruction 
of  salt  works,  186,  187;  march  to  Washing 
ton,  188,  189;  march  in  Antietam  cam 
paign,  Reno  incident,  193-197;  South 
Mountain,  wounded,  198-200;  convales 
cence,  200,  201, ,203;  colonel  of  23d.,  202; 
return  to  West  Virginia,  204;  spurs,  205; 
commands  brigade  (1863),  207;  family  at 
headquarters,  207,  209,  215;  commands 
at  Charleston,  W.  Va.,  208,  215;  Jenkins' 
raid,  209;  movement  against  Raleigh 
(1863),  209;  march  to  intercept  Morgan, 
210-212;  and  reenlistment  of  regiment, 
213,  214;  movement  against  Lewisburg, 
214;  railroad  raid  (1864),  Cloyd  Mountain, 
217-222;  march  to  Staunton,  222;  in  Hun 
ter's  Valley  campaign  and  retreat  to  West 
Virginia,  223-226;  return  to  lower  Shen- 
andoah  Valley,  228;  movements  there, 
Kernstown,  228-231;  Berry  ville,  236; 
Opequon,  240-246,  251;  staff,  240  n.;  com 
mands  division,  245;  Fisher's  Hill,  248, 
251;  Cedar  Creek,  255-262;  winter  quar 


ters  (1864),  263;  brigadier-general,  264;  re 
view  of  services  in  Shenandoah  campaign, 
266;  only  one  other  President  wounded  in 
battle,  267;  and  exchange  of  Crook,  268; 
new  command  in  West  Virginia  (1865), 
269,  273;  in  grand  review,  273;  resigns, 
273;  brevet  major  general,  273;  war  horse, 
273  n.;  r6sum6  of  military  services,  275; 
first  president  of  Society  of  Army  of  West 
Virginia,  274;  at  reunions  and  encamp 
ments,  2,  246,  269,  339-343,  393;  and  Loyal 
Legion,  343-346. 

Military  views:  on  first-call  meeting,  reso 
lutions,  1,  120;  on  war  spirit,  120-122;  on 
dangers  to  Cincinnati,  121  n.;  on  plans  for 
service,  122;  on  chances  of  commission, 
124;  on  commission  as  major,  124,  125; 
on  attitude  of  company  officers,  125;  on 
first  parade,  Col.  Rosecrans'  speech,  125; 
on  being  in  command  of  camp,  bluffing, 
126;  on  new  colonel,  127;  on  Bull  Run,  127; 
on  Fremont  (1861),  128,  167,  168;  on  leav 
ing  camp,  farewell  to  family,  128;  on  ad 
vance  in  West  Virginia,  129-135;  on  atti 
tude  of  Southern  people,  129,  131,  151,  156, 
168,  169;  on  West  Virginia  scenery,  130, 
144,  162;  on  guerrillas,  131,  162,  163,  165, 
170  n.;  on  pleasures  of  military  life,  132, 142, 
165;  pn  Gen.  Reynolds,  133;  on  his  march 
ing  kit,  133;  on  battle  of  Carnifex  Ferry, 
feeling  in  battle,  137;  on  Confederate  sol 
diers,  138,  154;  on  services  as  judge-ad- 
vocate-genera.1,  138,  140,  142;  on  life  at 
headquarters,  139;  on  Donn  Piatt's  jokes, 
139;  on  desire  for  service  elsewhere,  139- 

141,  159,  160;  on  winter  quarters  and  its 
experiences,    140;  on  his  regiment,   140- 

142,  152,  165,  168;  war  optimism  (1861), 
142;  (1862),  180;  (1863),  213;  on  quarters 
on  Gauley,  143;  on  false  reports  and  real 
condition  of  army,  144-146,  151,  152;  on 
probable  promotion,  147;  on  Ball's  Bluff, 
147;  on  McClellan,  and  operations,  147, 
161,  165,  168,  178,  180,  181,  206;  letter 
to  son  on  a  Confederate  colonel  and  his 
house,    147-150;    on    winter    skirmishing 
and  chasing  Floyd,  150-156;  on  quarters 
at  Fayetteville,  154-156,  159;  on  costume 
as  officer,   155;  on  Trent  affair,   156;  on 
contrabands,    157,    158,    161,   221   n.;  on 
preparations  for  Kentucky  campaign,  158; 
desire  for  cavalry,  159;  on  discipline,  160; 
on  importance  of  West  Virginia  operations, 
160, 162;  on  advance  post  at  Raleigh  (1862), 
160;  on  Dr.  Webb's  discontent,   160;  on 
Gen.  Beckley's  papers  and  surrender,  161- 
163;  on  Mills  Springs,  162;  on  Pea  Ridge, 
165;  on  adventures  of  Union  man,  166;  on 
capture  of  Southern  correspondent,   106; 
on  Northern  successes,  169;  on  Letcher'a 
enforcement  of  draft,  169;  on  raid  to  Pear 
isburg  (1862),   169-173;  on  retreat,   173- 
175;  on  being  in  danger,  176;  on  camp  life 
at  Flat  Top  Mountain,  177-182;  on  en 
joyment  of  battle,  177;  on  thunder  storms, 
178,  186;  on  pro-slavery  officers,  179;  on 
Pope  and  his  Eastern  command,  180;  on 
camp  life  at  Green  Meadows,  182-184;  on 
Bragg's  and  Morgan's  operations  (1862), 
183,  184,  192,  193;  on  colonelcy  in  another 
regiment,  184,  187,  192,  201;  on  brush  with 
enemy,  185;  on  a  scout,  186;  on  raid  on 
salt  works,  187;  on  march  to  Washington, 
187-189;    on    military    arrangements    at 
Washington,    189;  on  Second  Bull  Run, 
189-192;  discouraged,  191;  comparison  of 
armies,    191,    192;    depreciates    Eastern 


INDEX 


467 


troops,  191,  233,  270;  on  soldiers  and  gen 
erals,  192,  193;  on  march  to  Frederick, 
Reno  incident,  193-197;  on  experience  of 
being  wounded,  200;  on  his  convalescence, 
201,  203;  on  election  and  change  in  army 
commands,  204;  on  return  of  regiment  to 
West  Virginia,  204-206;  on  regimental 
pranks,  205;  on  McKinley,  205;  on  Fred- 
ericksburg,  206;  on  emancipation,  206;  on 
being  passed  over  in  command,  207;  on 
command  at  Charleston,  208;  on  negro 
troops,  209;  on  Wytheville  raid  (1863), 
213;  on  Chickamauga,  213;  on  question 
of  generalship,  214;  on  capture  of  Scarn- 
mon,  215;  on  preparations  for  raid  (1864), 
216;  on  railroad  raid  and  Cloyd  Mountain, 
220  n.,  221;  on  march  to  the  Valley,  223; 
disapproval  of  retaliation,  223  n.;  on  re 
sults  of  Hunter's  campaign,  226;  on  final  ex 
ertion  of  Confederacy,  226,  227;  on  Crook's 
independent  command,  226;  on  Kernstown, 
230  n.;  on  Sheridan's  advance  and  policy, 
233,  235,  237;  on  Winchester  as  war  to-vn, 
233  n.;  on  Berryville  fight,  236;  on  Sher 
man's  and  Lee's  armies,  237;  on  differences 
between  bodies  of  troops,  237;  on  the  mo 
rass  at  Opequon,  243  n.;  on  the  charge 
across  it,  244  n. ;  on  credit  for  Opequon  and 
Fisher's  Hill,  250,  251;  on  Crook  and 
Sheridan,  251;  on  Averell's  failure,  251 ;  on 
success  of  Shenandoah  campaign,  251;  on 
retaining  his  general  command,  252,  262; 
expects  Lincoln's  election  and  end  of  war, 
252;  on  destruction  in  Valley,  252  n.;  on 
Early' s  renewed  advance,  254;  on  reported 
death  and  denial,  257  n.;  on  conditions 
when  Sheridan  arrived  at  Cedar  Creek, 
259  n.;  on  unwarranted  criticism  of  the 
retreat,  260  n. ;  on  his  share  in  Cedar  Creek, 
262;  on  relative  conduct  of  corps  in  it,  262; 
on  voting  in  army,  Sheridan's  first  vote, 
263;  on  end  of  Shenadoah  campaign,  264, 
265,  267;  on  Sherman's  movements, 
264,  265;  on  commission  as  general,  265, 
274,  275;  on  getting  Crook  exchanged, 
268;  on  duties  under  Hancock  (1865),  269; 
on  new  West  Virginia  command,  239; 
address  on  leaving  old  brigade,  269  n.;  on 
Grant's  final  victories,  270,  271;  on  his 
military  career,  a  "good  colonel,"  273- 
275 ;  on  execution  of  bounty-j  urn  per,  476  n. ; 
on  glory  of  private  soldier  (1877),  2,  246; 
on  Gettysburg  and  Lincoln,  255;  on  pen 
sions  (1887) ,  339  n. ;  on  aid  for  Confederate 
veterans,  339  n.;  on  Grand  Army  En 
campment  (1892),  393  n.;  tribute  to  Han 
cock.  409  n. 

Politicallife  (1865-1876) :  elected  to  Con 
gress  (1864),  1,  234,  263;  suggested  by 
sol  liers  for  Governor  (1865),  274,  290;  in 
Ohio  campaign  (1865),  276;  Republican 
congressional  caucus,  reconstruction  reso 
lutions  (1865),  278;  attitude  on  reconstruc 
tion,  280,  289;  as  Congressman,  in  Com 
mittee  on  Library,  281,  282;  campaign  for 
reelection,  282-288  ;  congressional  visit 
to  New  Orleans,  288;  reluctance  to  run 
for  Governor  (1867),  291.  292;  nomi 
nated,  292;  resigns  from  Congress,  293; 
campaign  speeches,  293—328;  elected  Gov 
ernor,  328;  inaugural  address,  328-331; 
in  presidential  campaign  (1868),  331;  mes 
sages  to  legislature  (1868),  332;  (1870), 
339  (1871),  341;  (1872),  342-345;  renomi- 
nated,  334;  speech  in  convention,  334- 
337;  reflected,  339;  second  inaugural,  339- 
341;  character  of  state  papers  as  Governor, 


345;  review  of  measures  advocated,  345- 
350;  and  manhood  suffrage,  346;  and  mi 
nority  representation  on  boards,  346;  and 
judicial  appointments,  347;  and  civil  serv 
ice  reform,  347;  and  geological  survey, 
347;  and  penal  and  charitable  institutions, 
348,  and  State  University,  349;  interest 
in  local  history  and  archaeology,  349; 
occasional  addresses,  350-354;  declines 
third  term  (1871),  354;  in  State  campaign 
(1871),  355-361;  and  senatorial  contest 
(1872),  362,  363;  reception  to  new  Gov 
ernor,  363;  return  to  Cincinnati,  365;  de 
termined  to  quit  public  life,  365,  377;  in 
Federal  campaign  (1872),  candidacy  for 
Congress,  366-376;  refuses  Federal  office, 
376;  returns  to  Fremont,  376;  development 
of  Spiegel  Grove,  376;  interest  in  real  es 
tate,  376,  379;  and  library  for  Fremont, 
376-379;  and  his  uncle,  378;  as  uncle's 
heir  and  executor,  378;  and  nomination  for 
Governor  (1875),  382-387;  preparation 
for  campaign,  issues  of  sound  money  and 
sectarian  interference  in  schools,  389-399; 
campaign,  speeches,  392-406;  elected, 
significance  of  victory,  406;  character  of 
campaign,  406  n.;  in  Pennsylvania  cam 
paign,  407;  third  inaugural,  408-410; 
character  of  appointments,  410;  and  par 
doning  power,  rules,  411;  at  post  during 
presidential  campaign,  411;  last  message 
as  Governor,  411-413;  resigns,  413;  and 
strike  of  coal  miners,  439,  440. 

Political  views  before  and  after  presidency: 
on  avoiding  politics,  1,  26,  31;  on  section 
alism  in  colleges,  26,  27,  41;  on  Mexican 
War,  46;  on  campaign  (1840), 97,98;  (1844), 
100;  (1852),  102-101;  (1860),  115;  on  Tyler, 
98  ;  on  political  honors,  99  ;  on  Scott  in 
Ohio  (1851),  101  n.,  102  n.  ;  on  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Bill  and  South  (1854),  105;  on 
slavery  and  results  of  1856,  106,  107,  114; 
on  Know-Nothings  and  Republicans  in 
Cincinnati(1859),  110;  on  Lincoln's  address 
(1859),  110,  111;  on  prospects  of  campaign 
of  1860,  115;  on  pre-election  threats  of 
secession,  116;  prefers  disunion  to  compro 
mise,  117;  on  reception  of  Lincoln  (1861), 
118;  on  Lincoln's  policy,  118;  on  his  own 
defeat  for  Solicitor,  119;  solution  of  slavery 
question  (1861),  157;  on  rumored  Cabinet 
changes  (1862),  161;  on  reaction  favoring 
war  policy  (1863),  208;  on  negro  policy  of 
administration,  209;  on  Brough's  election 
(1863),  214;  on  McClellan's  candidacy, 
233  n.,  236-238;  on  candidacy  for  Con 
gress  (1864),  refuses  to  leave  army  to  can 
vass,  234,  234  n.,  238;  expects  Lincoln's 
election,  252;  on  election  to  Congress, 
263  n.;  on  Chase's  appointment  as  Chief- 
Justice,  265;  on  applicants  for  West  Point, 
265;  on  fall  of  gold  (1865),  269;  on  assassi 
nation  of  Lincoln,  distrustof  Johnson,  Lin 
coln's  fame,  271,  272;  on  Ohio  Congressmen 
(1865),  277  n.;  on  Republican  caucus  on 
reconstruction,  representation  based  on 
suffrage,  278;  on  leaders  of  Congress,  278  n. ; 
attitude  on  suffrage  question  (1866),  279; 
on  Johnson  and  Congress,  279,  280,  284, 
285;  on  presidential  reconstruction,  280, 
283,  307;  on  Fourteenth  Amendment  aa 
prerequisite  of  reconstruction,  281  n.; 
campaign  speeches  on  reconstruction 
(1866),  283-288;  (1867),  293-327;  on  en 
forcement  of  Iron-clad  Oath,  284,  285;  on 
"Rebel  plan"  of  reconstruction,  286,  306, 
307,  319 ;  on  congressional  plan,  Four- 


468 


INDEX 


teenth  Amendment,  287,  308;  on  candi 
dacy  for  nomination  for  Governor  (1867), 
291,  292;  on  national  unity,  293,  294;  on 
equality  of  rights  in  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  294;  on  growth  of  slave  power 
and  opposition,  295,  296,  353,  354;  on 
Peace  Democrats  and  the  war,  296-301; 
on  development  of  emancipation  policy, 
opposition  of  Peace  Democrats,  301-306; 
on  conditions  in  South  on  rejection  of 
Fourteenth  Amendment,  308,  309;  on  Re 
construction  Acts,  their  success  and  South 
ern  acceptance  of  them  (1867),  310-315, 
319;  on  right  and  inevitableness  of  impar 
tial  suffrage,  315-318;  on  suffrage  and  edu 
cation,  318;  on  reconstruction  as  para 
mount  issue,  321;  on  necessity  of  recon 
struction  by  loyal  men  and  plans  only,  321- 
324;  on  inconsistency  of  Peace  Demo 
crats,  324;  on  their  prolongation  of  the 
war,  325-327;  on  conduct  and  prospects 
of  his  campaign  (1867),  328;  inaugurals  as 
Governor,  329-331,  340,  341;  on  principles 
of  State  taxation,  329;  on  excessive  legis 
lation  and  over-government,  329,  336, 
341;  on  progress  in  Ohio  towards  man 
hood  suffrage,  329;  on  proposed  with 
drawal  of  ratification  of  Fourteenth  Amend 
ment,  330;  on  Seymour's  nomination,  331; 
messages  to  legislature,  332,  342-345;  on 
election  frauds,  332;  on  Democratic  fail 
ure  in  Ohio  (1869),  334-336;  on  visible 
admixture  bill,  335;  on  suffrage  for  stu 
dents  and  veterans  in  soldiers'  homes,  335; 
on  increase  in  local  indebtedness,  335, 
338  n.,  342;  on  reconstruction  of  Virginia, 
Mississippi,  Texas,  336,  337;  on  State  civil 
service  reform,  340,  347,  403;  on  return  to 
appointive  judiciary,  340;  on  avoidance  of 
State  debt,  342,  345  n.;  on  fixed  salaries, 
342;  on  need  of  railway  investigation  and 
reform  (1872),  343;  on  corruption  and  mis 
management  in  local  government,  plan  of 
investigation,  344,  404,  408,  409,  412;  on 
minority  representation  on  State  boards, 
346  n.,  347  n.;  on  Home  for  Soldiers'  Or 
phans,  348  n. ;  on  significance  of  Civil  War 
and  its  commemoration,  350-352;  on  delet 
ing  his  speech  as  presiding  officer,  350  n.; 
on  heroes  of  mistaken  causes,  352;  toast  to 
Kentucky  and  Ohio,  352,  353;  on  Fifteenth 
Amendment,  354;  on  sincerity  of  "new 
departure"  of  Ohio  Democrats  (1871), 
355-361;  on  senatorial  contest,  362,  363, 
365  n.;on  retiring  from  public  life  (1872), 
364,  365  n.,  366  n.-  on  Liberal  Convention 
and  on  Greeley  (1872),  366,  367,  369,  372- 
374;  on  Republican  Convention,  367;  on 
prospects  of  campaign,  367,  369,  374;  on 
candidacy  and  defeat  for  Congress  (1872), 

368,  375;  on  Republican  policy  and  inter 
nal  peace,  results  of  Fifteenth  Amendment, 

369,  370,  373;  on  financial  improvement 
under  Grant,  370, 373 ;  on  Federal  civil  serv 
ice  reform  (1872),  371;  on  tariff  reduction, 
371;  on  Democratic  abandonment  of  prin 
ciples,  372;  on  Grant's  reelection,  375,  376; 
on  candidacy  for  nomination  of  Governor 
(1875),   382-387;   preliminary   speech   on 
issues,  389  n.;  on  preparation  for  contest 
and  issues,  390,  391;  campaign  speeches  on 
inflation,  392-397,  401^403;  on  sectarian 
interference    with    public    schools,      397- 
401;  on  prospects  of  campaign,  and  elec 
tion,  405,  406,  2,  371  n. ;  on  third  inaugu 
ration,  408;  on  his  appointments,  410;  on 
rules  as  to  pardons,  411;  on  Morton  (1870), 


419  n.  — On  Conkling  (1888),  2,  24  n., 
235  n. ;  on  large  results  of  Civil  War,  340  n. , 
343  n.;  on  the  completeness  of  its  re 
sults,  341,  342;  pleas  for  reconciliation, 
340  n.,  341  n.;  on  gain  to  South  through  it, 
342;  on  Lincoln  as  incarnation  of  ideas  of 
the  war,  342,  343;  on  purpose  of  Loyal 
Legion,  344-346;  on  Federal  aid  of  educa 
tion,  349,  350,  361  n.,  365,  368;  on  respon 
sibility  for  slavery,  350  n.;  on  Grant's 
character  (1885),  359  n.;  on  Grant's  fu 
neral,  Arthur,  Cleveland,  359  n.,  360  n.; 
on  definite  retirement,  361  n.,  369;  on  as 
sassination  of  Garfield,  362-364;  on  Conk- 
ling-Garfield  row,  362  n.;  on  progress  of 
civil  service  reform  (1884)  and  his  share 
in  it,  362  n.;  on  Garfield's  funeral,  364; 
estimate  of  Garfield,  364  n.;  on  Arthur's 
first  message,  365,  366;  on  Mormons,  365, 
366  n.;  on  reconstruction  as  settled  ques 
tion  (1881),  366;  on  campaign  of  1884, 
366-368;  on  Cleveland  and  civil  service 
reform,  368,  379;  on  Cleveland's  adminis 
tration,  368,  369,  374;  on  campaign  of 
1888,  370-373;  on  tariff  (1888),  370  n.; 
(1890),  375;  on  requests  for  influence  with 
Harrison,  373 ;  on  Harrison's  appointments, 
374,  375;  on  Ohio  campaign,  Foraker 
(1889),  374,  375;  on  congressional  elec 
tions  (1890),  375;  on  Harrison's  lack  of 
tact,  375  n.;  on  campaign  of  1892,  375- 
377;  on  single  presidential  term  of  six 
years  (1892),  378,  379;  opposition  to  tem 
perance  in  politics  and  legislation,  379- 
381 ;  on  woman  suffrage,  381 ;  on  labor  con 
ditions  and  swollen  fortimes,  381-385; 
response  to  toast  to  Presidency  (1889), 
386  n.,  387  n.;  on  Southern  dinner  in  New 
York,  speech  there,  negro  suffrage  and 
Senate  as  settled  issues,  387  n.-389  n.;  on 
not  seeking  political  honors,  414  n. 

Presidential  election  and  contest:  Demo 
cratic  search  of  record,  slanders,  1,  379  n., 
473-476;  influence  of  Ohio  election  (1875) 
on  candidacy,  407,  423-425;  strength  as 
available  candidate  for  nomination,  420, 
438,  447,  453;  Sherman's  pioneer  work  for, 
420;  attitude  towards  suggestions  of  can 
didacy  (1867-76),  421-426;  popular  re 
sponse  to  Sherman's  advocacy,  426;  as 
passive  candidate  for  nomination,  427- 
440,  441  n.;  indorsement  by  Ohio,  431, 
441;  Curtis-Dickson  correspondence  on, 
and  Stalwarts,  434,  435  n.;  and  vice-presi 
dential  nomination,  442;  general  second 
choice,  442,  443,  454  n.;  attitude  of 
Ohio  delegation,  442;  Noyes'  speech  nomi 
nating,  447;  seconds,  448;  in  balloting, 
448^-452;  nominated,  452;  wisd9m  of 
choice,  453 ;  management  of  forces  in  con 
vention,  453  n.,  attitude  during  conven 
tion,  454;  formal  notification,  reply,  455, 
456;  attitude  after  nomination,  456  n.; 
public  reception  of  nomination,  456;  re 
ception  at  Fremont,  speech,  457-459; 
letter  of  acceptance,  459-465;  reception 
of  letter,  465,  466;  conduct  during  the 
campaign,  470 ;  and  Chandler  as  campaign 
manager,  472;  charge  of  Know-Nothing- 
ism,  476-478,  and  October  States,  478- 
481,  484-486;  and  assessments,  482;  strain 
of  campaign,  483,  486,  488;  at  Centennial, 
487;  does  not  vote,  490;  conduct  during 
doubt  of  results,  491-500;  and  legal  deter 
mination  of  vote,  500-502;  justice  of  elec 
tion,  502-508,  537-540,  2,  144;  and  pledges 
to  South,  and  Matthews-Gordon  confer- 


INDEX 


469 


ence,  1,  504,  505,  517  n.,  518  n.,  520,  533, 
534,  2,  66,  67;  attempt  to  alienate  Grant, 
1,  505,  506  n.;  and  Oregon  vote,  508,  509; 
during  contest  in  Congress,  511,  512, 
517  n.;  and  right  of  President  of  Senate  to 
count  votes,  513,  522,  523;  political  con 
sultations  during  contest,  question  of 
presence  or  representative  at  Washing 
ton,  513-519;  attitude  towards  compro 
mise  and  Commission,  521-524,  524  n., 
525  n.;  threats  against,  shot  at,  precau 
tions  for  journey,  2,  1-3;  farewell  recep 
tion  and  meeting  of  legislature,  3;  journey 
to  Washington,  3-5;  at  Washington, 
Grant's  dinner,  private  taking  of  oath,  5. 
Views  of  campaign  and  contest:  on  condi 
tion  of  Republican  party  (1875),  1,  383; 
on  Ohio  election  (1875)  and  possible  can 
didacy,  405,  406,  422,  425;  on  not  permit 
ting  active  work  for  nomination,  426,  429, 
431,  432,  434-438;  on  sound  money  as 
issue,  427, 428,  429  n.,  461;  on  availability, 
429,  433;  on  Ohio  endorsement,  431,  432; 
on  Elaine's  candidacy,  432;  on  possibility 
of  vice-presidential  nomination,  442;  on  be 
ing  general  second  choice,  442;  on  the  con 
vention,  454;  on  feelings  on  news  of  nomi 
nation,  454  n.,  456  n.;  response  to  notifica 
tion,  456;  on  public  opinion  of  nomination, 
456;  speech  at  Fremont  reception,  on  Fre 
mont  as  home,  457-459;  on  campaign 
without  personalities,  459;  letter  of  ac 
ceptance,  460-462;  on  single  term,  460  n., 
461;  on  civil  service  reform,  assessments, 
460,  475  n.,  482,  482  n.,  483  n.;  on  public 
schools,  461;  on  Southern  problem  and 
policy,  461,  462,  484,  520,  534  n.,  2,  4, 
lln.,12n.;  on  nomination  of  Tilden,  1,468; 
on  reception  of  letter  of  acceptance,  468; 
on  Democratic  search  of  record,  474  n.; 
on  campaign  slanders,  476  n. ;  on  accusa 
tion  of  Know-Nothingism,  477,  478,  485; 
on  conditions  in  Indiana  and  use  of  money, 
478,  479  n. ;  attitude  toward  defeat,  479, 
480  n.,  484,  486;  on  October  elections, 
481,  483-486;  on  adhering  to  principles, 
484;  on  danger  of  contested  election,  486; 
on  visit  to  Centennial,  speech  there,  486, 
487;  on  probable  defeat  through  irregu 
larities,  486,  488;  on  probable  electoral 
vote,  489;  on  effects  of  Democratic  suc 
cess,  490;  on  supposed  defeat,  effect  on 
negroes,  493-497;  on  visiting  statesmen 
and  honest  count,  495  n.,  498  n.,  500, 
503;  on  Louisiana  count,  504,  506,  507, 
508 n.;  on  interviews  with  Southern  emis 
saries,  504,  505,  516  n.;  on  loss  of  New 
York,  506;  on  Oregon  contest,  508,  509; 
on  conduct  in  crisis,  508,  509  n. ;  on  accept 
ing  final  results,  511,  512,  517,  522,  530; 
on  preparation  for  legal  contest,  513  n.; 
on  right  of  President  of  Senate  to  count 
votes,  513  n.,  522,  523;  on  being  uncom 
mitted  to  persons  or  policies,  visit  of 
Conkling's  emissary,  513  n.,  514-516;  on 
going  to  Washington  or  haying  represen 
tative  there,  516-519;  on  resigning  aa  Gov 
ernor  before  the  count,  522;  thoughts  on 
inaugural,  522;  on  Conkling  and  compro 
mise,  524;  on  Commission,  524  n.,  525  n., 
527,  528;  on  necessity  of  preventing  future 
contests,  528;  on  choice  of  Bradley,  530; 
on  Florida  decision,  531  n.;  on  Randall  and 
filibuster,  532  n. ;  on  legality  and  fairness 
of  election,  538-540,  2, 109  n.,  152  n.,  168n., 
370;  farewell  speeches  at  Columbus,  4, 
4  n.;  on  taking  oath  in  private,  5  n.;  on 


Cabinet  building,   rules,    17,    18;  invita 
tions  to  Sherman  and  Schurz,  18-20. 

Presidency:  inauguration,  address,  2,  5- 
14;  reception  of  address,  14,  15;  opposition 
of  Republican  leaders,  15-17,  82,  83,  145, 
173;  formation  of  Cabinet,  17-23;  opposi 
tion  in  Senate  to  confirmation,  public 
opinion,  23-29;  character  of  Cabinet,  29- 
32;  changes  in  Cabinet,  32  n.;  question  of 
inconsistency  of  Southern  policy,  38-40; 
difficulties  of  Southern  problem,  40;  and 
Matthews'  letters  to  Packard  and  Cham 
berlain,  41-44;  and  Matthews'  candidacy 
for  Senate,  44  n. ;  commission  to  Louisiana, 
instructions,  45-49,  54-56;  conference  with 
Chamberlain  and  Hampton,  49-51;  with 
draws  troops  from  South  Carolina  State 
House,  51-53;  petition  from  New  Orleans, 
56;  action,  advice,  and  report  of  Louisiana 
commission,  57-64;  removes  troops  from 
Louisiana  State  House,  60;  reception  of 
action,  64-66;  accusation  of  bargain,  66, 
67,  145,  146;  historical  verdict,  67;  appre 
ciation  of  civil  service  problem,  69,  97; 
conditions  of  service  confronting,  73,  74; 
field  of  reform  through  executive  action 
only,  74;  policy  as  to  appointments  and 
removals,  75,  80,  108,  and  nepotism,  75, 
420;  reform  in  Washington  offices,  76;  in 
vestigations  of  New  York  Custom  House, 
order  for  reform,  77,  91;  general  order 
against  political  participation  and  assess 
ments,  question  of  enforcement,  79,  85  n., 
86  n.,  379;  calls  extra  sessions  of  Congress 
(1877),  81,  82;  (1879) ,  173;  defiance  of  New 
York  customs  officials,  85;  successors 
nominated,  86 ;  contest  in  Senate  over  con 
firmation,  rejection,  86-91;  vacation  sus 
pension  of  officials,  92;  renewal  of  nomina 
tions,  confirmation,  92-94;  reforms  under 
new  officials,  95,  96;  reform  in  New  York 
Postoffice,  97;  reform  results  of  civil  serv 
ice  policy,  107,  110,  403;  offices  for  visiting 
statesmen  and  Returning  Board  officials, 
108-110;  attitude  on  resumption,  112; 
and  railroad  riots,  113,  228;  and  Bland 
Silver  Bill,  veto,  120-127;  and  act  forbid 
ding  retirement  of  greenbacks,  130:  in 
fluence  on  resumption,  132;  veto  of  Refund 
ing  Bill,  138-140,  328;  financial  influence 
of  administration,  140;  Maryland  memo 
rial  on  election,  146-148;  confessions  of 
fraud,  149;  House  resolution  of  inquiry, 
denial  of  purpose  to  impeach  title,  150- 
157;  testimony  on  fraud  issue,  157-161: 
results  of  investigation,  167;  and  Federal 
election  laws,  173-177,  182,  183,  198; 
Democratic  programme  to  coerce  repeal 
through  riders  to  appropriation  bills,  178; 
determination  to  resist  coercion,  179- 
185;  vetoes  of  appropriation  bills  with 
such  riders,  185-204,  205  n.;  popular  at 
titude  toward  stand,  194,  199,  205-207; 
Democratic  backdown,  199,  204;  signs 
bill  forbidding  troops  as  police  power  at 
polls,  200,  201  n.;  and  Halifax  Award,  208; 
and  Mexico,  order  to  pursue  raiders  over 
border,  208-211;  and  Chinese  immigra 
tion,  213-218;  and  French  Panama  Canal, 
219-222;  and  Thompson's  acceptance  of 
Canal  offer,  223;  and  rehabilitation  of 
Republican  party,  226,  227,  267,  297,  298: 
and  yellow-fever  epidemic,  22-<;  and 
Indian  education  and  advancement,  228- 
230;  Ponca  Indian  episode,  230-233;  Gar- 
field's  nomination  as  endorsement  of  ad 
ministration,  238,  239;  platform  (1880) 


470 


INDEX 


on  administration,  238;  first  trips,  241; 
honorary  degree  at  Harvard,  241 ;  Holmes' 
poem,  241  n.;  New  England  tour  (1877), 
242-245;  in  Ohio  (1877),  245-248;  visits 
to  Fremont,  246,  262,  288,  297;  visit  to 
Morton,  246  n.;  Southern  tour  (1877), 
248-253;  results,  254;  at  Gettysburg 
(1878),  255;  at  Wyoming  Valley,  255; 
Northwestern  tour  (1878),  256-264;  at 
Montpelier  and  Winchester,  264-266: 
and  suppression  of  negro  suffrage,  266, 
268;  tour  in  Central  West  (1879),  281-285; 
at  Yale  (1880),  honorary  degree,  286-288; 
and  campaign  of  1880,  288,  297;  Pacific 
Coast  tour,  293-297;  review  of  administra 
tion,  294  n. ;  domestic  life  in  White  House, 
299;  family  there,  300;  domestic  force, 
301 ;  private  secretary,  son  as  confidential 
secretary,  302;  routine,  302-304;  Cabinet 
meetings,  303;  and  wife's  informal  even 
ing  receptions,  307;  Sunday  drives  and 
conferences  with  Sherman,  308;  prepara 
tion  of  state  papers  and  speeches,  308; 
religious  connection,  309;  formal  dinners 
and  receptions,  311;  temperance  r6gime, 
312,  313;  popular  opinion  of  this,  314, 
315;  Hayes  Sideboard,  317;  silver  wedding, 
318-321;  reunion  of  Literary  Club,  323; 
summer  residence,  324 ;  accepts  invitations, 
326;  commendations  during  last  days  of 
administration,  328;  Gordon  on  adminis 
tration  (1889),  388?i.;  tributes  to  stand 
ard  of  presidency  (1903),  403,  404,  407; 
personal  relations  with  Cabinet,  422. 

Views  as  President :  inaugural  address, 
If  6-11;  on  adhering  to  letter  of  accept 
ance,  6;  on  Southern  problem  and  purposes 
of  policy,  local  self  government,  protection 
of  negro  rights,  results,  7,  8,  45,  64,  66,  174- 
176,  227,  274-276,  286,  287,  293  n.,  353  n., 
354,  430;  on  educational  needs  of  South, 
Federal  aid  of  education,  8,  288  n.,  289- 
292,  293  n.;  on  civil  service  reform,  8,  9; 
aphorism  on  public  service,  9,  13  n.;  on 
single  term  for  President,  9,  237  n. ;  on  cur 
rency  and  resumption,  9;  on  American  pol 
icy  and  arbitration,  9, 10;  9n  significance  of 
peaceful  settlement  of  disputed  election, 
10,  11;  on  opposition  to  Cabinet,  29;  on 
policy  of  withdrawing  military  support  of 
carpetbag  governments,  41,  45;  on  ex 
tremists  and  Southern  policy,  44  n.;  on 
plans  for  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina, 
45;  on  commission  to  Louisiana,  45;  letter 
to  Chamberlain  and  Hampton,  50  n.;  order 
for  removal  of  troops,  52;  on  Republican 
opposition  and  its  objects,  66  n.,  82,  83, 
227,  429  n.,  430;  on  plans  for  civil  service 
reform,  69;  on  nepotism,  75  n.;  order  for 
reform  in  New  York  Custom  House,  77, 
95;  general  order  against  political  partici 
pation  and  assessments,  on  enforcement  of 
it,  79,  86  n.,  103,  106;  on  his  removals  and 
appointments,  81,  83,  89  n.;  on  first  six 
months  of  presidency,  81  n.;  on  elections 
(1877),  82,  89n.,90n.;  (1878),  131  n.,  267, 
268;  (1879),  206  n.;  messages  on  civil  serv 
ice  reform,  83-85,  98-107;  on  congres 
sional  dictation  of  appointments,  84,  87, 
90,  94,  97,  106;  thoughts  for  special  mes 
sage  on  reform,  85  n. ;  on  Senate  opposition 
to  New  York  Custom  House  appointments, 
87, 89-94 ;  on  relations  with  reformers,  88  n. ; 
on  first  year  of  presidency,  public  support, 
88  n.,  89  n.;  on  accomplishments  in  re 
form  policy,  89  n.,  227,  430;  message  on 
New  York  Custom  House,  93;  on  com 


petitive  examinations,  98,  99,  102,  104, 
105;  on  correct  principles  of  public  service, 
99;  on  previous  efforts  for  reform,  100- 
102;  urges  repeal  of  Tenure-of-Office  Act, 
106;  on  difficulties  of  reform  policy,  rela 
tions  with  other  policies,  109, 110'n. ;  on  ad 
ministration  and  rehabilitation  of  Republi 
can  party,  109,  128  n.,  227;  on  offices  for 
visiting  statesmen  and  Returning  Board 
officials,  109  n. ;  on  patronage  and  preven 
tion  of  repeal  of  Resumption  Bill,  110  n.; 
messages  on  finances,  115-119,  133-137; 
on  necessity  of  resumption,  115,  131;  on 
principles  of  bimetallism,  116,  118;  on 
free  silver,  refunding,  and  public  faith, 
veto  of  Bland  Silver  Bill,  117-120,  122- 
126;  on  preparation  for  resumption,  128  n.; 
on  popular  purchase  of  small  bonds,  132  n.; 
on  success  of  resumption,  results  on  busi 
ness,  133, 277,430  n.;  on  further  refunding, 
133;  urges  repeal  of  silver  coinage,  134, 
136,  137;  on  retirement  of  greenbacks, 
their  unconstitutionality,  134,  135  n., 
136;  on  sinking  fund,  135;  on  tariff  on  tea 
and  coffee,  135;  veto  of  Refunding  Bill, 
because  of  effect  on  national  banks,  138- 
140;  on  prosecution  of  Louisiana  Return 
ing  Board,  144  n.;  on  threatened  election 
investigation,  150  n.;  on  revolutionary 
purpose  of  investigation,  152  n.,  155  n.; 
on  relations  with  J.  E.  Anderson,  158,  159; 
on  Tilden  and  Cipher  Dispatches,  165  n.; 
on  approaching  struggle  over  repeal  of 
Federal  elec^n  laws,  177,  179  n. ;  message 
at  special  session  (1879),  177;  on  resistance 
to  Democratic  coercive  policy,  181-185; 
veto  of  bill  with  army-at-polls  rider,  186- 
194;  on  Cabinet  and  veto,  public  expecta 
tion,  186  n.;  on  practice  of  riders,  190;  on 
demand  for  repeal  of  reconstruction  meas 
ures,  195  n.;  veto  of  bill  to  prevent  army 
at  place  of  election,  196,  197;  veto  of  Fed 
eral  election  law  riders,  198,  205  n. ;  on  re 
ception  of  vetoes,  198  n.,  203  n.;  on  Demo 
cratic  backdown,  200  n.,  203  n.;  on  pro 
posed  withholding  of  appropriation  for 
Federal  election  law,  200  n.;  veto  of  such 
withholding,  200-204;  on  results  of  con 
test  with  Congress,  temporary  popularity, 
206,  207;  on  evils  of  Chinese  immigration, 
veto  of  exclusion  bill  as  violating  treaty, 
213,  214,  217,  217  n.;  on  proposed  naval 
stations  near  Panama  Canal,  219  n.; 
thoughts  and  message  on  French  Pan 
ama  Canal,  220-222;  on  Mormons,  225  n.; 
on  Washington  Monument,  225  n.;  re 
views  of  administration,  227,  430;  on 
Indian  policy,  229  n.,  232  n. ;  on  Ponca  epi 
sode,  232;  on  Republican  Convention 
(1880),  237  n.,  240  n.;  on  nomination  of 
Garfield,  239;  pleas  for  reconciliation  in 
New  England  and  Ohio,  243-245,  246  n., 
247,  248;  and  in  South,  249-253;  on  New 
England  tour  (1877),  245  n.;  executive 
tribute  to  Morton,  247  n. ;  on  pioneers  and 
Indians,  256;  addresses  in  Northwest  on 
dangers  of  inflation  (1878),  257-264,  268; 
on  Madison  and  Constitution,  264,  265; 
on  Northwestern  trip,  264  n. ;  on  Mont 
pelier,  264  n.;  on  Butler  (1878),  267;  on 
nationalism  as  result  of  Civil  War,  270J 
274,  276,  292  n.,  296;  on  avoiding  public 
debt,  278-281;  on  leading  ideas  of  recon 
struction,  281;  on  force  and  unity  of  public 
opinion,  282,  284;  on  Lincoln  as  President, 
283;  on  future  of  Pacific  Coast,  295;  on 
essence  of  Declaration  of  Independence 


INDEX 


471 


Ordinance  of  1787,  Constitution,  295, 
296;  on  principles  of  administration  (1880), 
297;  on  election  of  Garfield,  297,  369,  370; 
on  relations  with  Wheeler,  306  n. ;  on  en 
tertainment  of  diplomatic  corps,  312  n.; 
on  "life-saving  station"  story,  313  n.;  on 
temperance  regime,  313  n.;  on  expenses 
and  accusation  of  parsimony,  314  n.;  on 
approaching  retirement  and  strain  of  presi 
dency,  325,  326,  374,  425  n.;  on  dinner  at 
Bancroft's,  327  n.;  on  closing  days  of  ad 
ministration,  328  n.;  on  ex-Presidents, 
335,  336  n.;  on  Arrears  of  Pensions  Bill, 
338  n.;  on  annexation  of  Canada,  377, 
378;  on  criticism  and  abuse,  attitude 
toward  calumny,  427  n.,  429  n., 430, 431  n. ; 
on  success  of  non-partisan  appeal  (1878), 
427  n. ;  on  praise,  431  n. ;  on  growing  popu 
lar  recognition  (1889),  432  n. 

Last  years  (1881-1893):  property,  2,  329; 
labors  and  hospitality,  329;  Spiegel  Grove 
described,  331-335,  441-7446;  welcome 
home,  335;  memorial  building,  335  n., 
446-450;  part  in  life  of  community,  336; 
as  president  of  Prison  Association,  346- 
348;  and  Federal  aid  of  education,  349- 
351;  as  member  of  Peabody  Education 
and  Slater  funds,  351-354;  and  Lake  Mo- 
honk  Conferences,  354;  as  trustee  of  col 
leges,  interest  in  manual  training,  355-^357; 
burden  of  correspondence,  357;  occasional 
demands,  358;  at  funeral  of  Garfield,  359; 
and  Garfield  memorial  fund,  359,  429  n.; 
at  funeral  of  Grant,  359;  of  Arthur,  Sher 
man,  Mrs.  Harrison,  360,  394;  as  political 
observer,  361;  at  Centennial  of  Washing 
ton's  Inauguration,  386;  and  death  of 
wife,  391,  396;  resumption  of  activities, 
392;  visit  to  Bermuda,  393;  at  Grand  Ar 
my  Encampment  (1892),  393;  last  public 
activities,  393-395;  last  journey,  396; 
seizure  and  death,  397;  mourning  for,  fu 
neral,  3987401;  tributes  to,  401-410;  re 
fuses  political  interviews,  406;  New  York 
Sun's  "chicken-raising"  attacks,  431; 
portrait,  442. 

Miscellaneous  views:  on  his  sister,  1,  15, 
17,  83,  84;  on  schoolmaster,  16;  self-charac 
terization  (1841),  19-20;  on  aspirations  and 
faults  (1841-50),  20,  22,  28,  39,  45,  57;  on 
speaking  well  of  others,  21;  on  typical  col 
lege  exhibitions,  23,  24;  on  college  friends, 
25;  on  application  to  law  studies,  29,  30, 
34;  rules  of  work,  30;  on  Story  and  Green- 
leaf  as  professors,  31-45;  on  Sparks  as  lec 
turer,  33;  on  reaching  his  majority,  34;  on 
reading  for  authorities,  34;  on  Adams  as 
political  speaker,  34;  on  Bancroft,  Win- 
throp,  Choate,  Webster  as  speakers,  35, 
40;  on  Dana's  lecture  on  loyalty,  36;  on 
first  theater,  36;  on  Walker  as  "preacher, 
38,  40;  on  public  speaking,  38,  44,  59;  on 
visit  to  Vermont  (1844),  39;  on  law  of  real 
property,  40,  41;  on  Berrien  as  speaker, 
44;  on  Longfellow  on  Goethe,  44;  on  his 
first  partner,  46;  on  Mississippi  River 
steamboat  life  (1848),  49;  on  Gen.  Worth, 
49;  on  social  life  and  amusements  in  Texas, 
50,  51;  on  horseback  trip  there,  Austin, 
character  sketches,  51-54;  on  waiting  for 
practice,  57;  on  mode  of  life  and  prospects 
(1850),  57-59,  86;  on  Literary  Club,  58; 
on  wasted  years  at  Fremont,  59 ;  on  temper 
ance  views,  60;  on  Stockton's  lecture,  61, 
on  Emerson,  his  conversations  and  beliefs, 
61-66;  on  early  English  poets,  66;  on  Aris 
totle's  Ethics,  68;  on  Paley  on  moral 


sense,  68,  69;  on  Locke's  innate  ideas,  69; 
on  N.  P.  Willis,  69;  on  reading  habit,  70, 
71, 72  n. ;  on  Reformation  and  Divine  inter 
ference,  70  n.;  on  Ik  Marvel,  71;  on  loose 
fiction,  71  n.;  on  Bible  as  literature,  72; 
on  Choate's  career,  72  n.;  on  Judge  John 
ston,  72  n.,  2,  421  n.;  on  marriage,  1,  74; 
on  Miss  Webb  and  his  engagement,  76; 
on  his  fiancee,  letters  to  her,  78-81;  on 
W.  E.  Channing  and  true  Christianity, 
79;  on  music,  81  n.;  on  delay  in  marriage, 
81  n. ;  on  early  married  life,  82,  83  n. ;  argu 
ment  on  criminal  insanity,  87-90;  on  un 
written  law,  90;  on  rights  of  defendant, 
91 ;  on  his  legal  success,  95 ;  on  fugitive-slave 
cases,  95  n.;  on  his  contentment  (1860), 
1 14  n. ;  on  return  to  Fremont  (1873) ,  376  n. ; 
on  real  estate  business,  377;  on  plans  for 
Fremont  library,  377,  379  n.;  on  collect 
ing  books  on  Ohio,  377  n.;  on  his  uncle, 
378;  on  R.  C.  Anderson  and  old  friends, 
2,  321  n.;  on  name  Spiegel  Grove,  331  n.; 
on  secret  societies,  336  n.;  on  virtues  of 
Catholic  Church,  337  n. ;  on  prison  reform, 
348,  392  n.,  394;  on  uses  of  Slater  Fund, 
352  n.;  on  Southern  trip  (1891),  353  n.; 
on  purpose  of  Lake  Mohonk  Conference, 
354;  on  future  of  negro  race,  355  n.;  on 
thoroughness  in  duties,  355  n.;  on  Ohio 
State  University  (1887),  355  n.;  on  manual 
training,  356, 357 ;  on  burden  of  correspond 
ence  and  activities,  357  n.,  396  n.;  on 
newspapers,  358  n. ;  on  Washington.  358  n., 
359  n.;  tribute  to  his  wife,  391,  392  n.;  on 
being  seventy,  395;  on  cultivating  self- 
control,  395  n.,  396  n.;  on  genealogy,  420; 
on  friendship,  420  n.;  to  W.  H.  Smith  on 
personal  relations,  425  n.;  on  Emerson' 3 
message,  433,  434;  on  Chautauqua  course, 
433  n.;  on  Lowell's  writings,  434  n.;  on  de 
pendence  on  Divine  favor,  435  n. ;  on  reli 
gious  belief ,  437. 

Characteristics:  ancestral  influences,  1, 8, 
14;  opinion  of  teacher,  18;  common  sense, 
19;  character  at  college,  19  n.,  25;  love  of 
fun  and  sports,  20,  21,  2,  415  n.,  416;  pub 
lic  and  private  purity,  1,  20  n.,  2,  404,  405, 
407;  love  of  nature,  1,  21;  carefulness  of 
preparation,  23,  2,  308;  opinion  of  Judge 
Lane  (1847),  1,  47;  catholic  intellectual 
svmpathies,  66;  general  reading,  66-73, 
114  n.,  179,  380  n.,  2,  432;  optimism,  1, 
86;  popularity  with  lawyers,  93;  temper 
ance,  opposition  to  political  efforts,  100,  2, 
305,  379-381;  political  clear-headedness, 
1,  104;  tact,  126  n.,  2,  409  n.;  firmness, 
174;  as  travelling  companion,  396,  416; 
as  man  of  the  people,  402;  many-sidedness, 
403;  sense  of  duty,  404,  409  n.,  414;  as 
soldier,  404,  405;  self-control,  406;  wide 
sympathies,  408;  as  partisan,  409  n.;  per 
sonal  appearance,  412,  413;  recreations, 
412;  speech  and  manner,  413;  dress,  413; 
political  honors  not  sought,  414;  straight 
forwardness,  414;  reticence,  414;  adapta 
bility,  415;  intellectual  curiosity,  416; 
faculty  of  remembering 'people,  416;  do 
mestic  relations,  416-119;  and  geneal 
ogy,  419;  friendships,  420^425;  as  speaker, 
style,  425-427;  as  presiding  officer,  427; 
attitude  towards  criticism  and  praise,  427- 
432;  religious  belief,  434-437;  as  best 
American  type,  437. 

Hayes,  R.  P.,  birth,  1,  82;  at  father's  camp, 
209,  215;  in  town  (1880),  2,  293;  White 
House,  301;  and  death  of  father,  397. 
Hayes,  Rebecca  (Russell),  1,  5,  8. 


472 


INDEX 


Hayes,  Rutherford,  [1],  career,  and  character, 
1,  5;  wife,  homestead,  10-13;  gun,  2,  442. 

Hayes,  Rutherford  [2j,  career,  1,  6. 

Hayes,  S.  R.,  at  White  House,  2,  300;  chris 
tening,  319;  and  death  of  father,  397  n. 

Hayes,  Sarah  (Lee),  1,  4. 

Hayes,  Sophia  (Birchard),  1,  6,  14;  and  war, 
121;  and  son,  2,  416;  portrait,  442. 

Hayes,  W.  C.,  birth,  1,  82;  at  father's  camp, 
207,  209,  215;  and  threats  against  father 
(1876),  2,  2;  in  father's  Southern  trip, 
248  n.;  in  Western  trip,  281  n.;  at  White 
House, 300,  311  n.;  as  father's  confidential 
secretary,  302;  deeds  Spiegel  Grove  to  State, 
425  n.,  447-449;  and  seizure  and  death  of 
father,  397. 

Hayes  family,  origin,  1,  1,  2;  arms,  2. 

Haynes,  W.  E.,  and  transfer  to  another  regi 
ment,  1,  192  n.;  at  H.'s  funeral,  2,  400. 

Henderson,  Henry,  scout  of  23d  Ohio,  1, 
163. 

Hendricks,  T.  A.,  on  Iron-clad  Oath  and 
reconstruction,  1,  283;  vice-presidential 
nomination,  466;  and  H.'s  title  to  presi 
dency,  539. 

Henry,  E.  E.,  in  West  Virginia  (1862),  1, 
175  n. 

Henry  Clay,  Lake  steamer  (1834),  1,  17. 

Hepburn,  A.  B.,  on  repeal  of  retirement  of 
greenbacks  (1878),  2,  130  n. 

Heroes,  H.  on  basis,  1,  352. 

Herron,  J.  W.,  H.'s  law  companion,  H.  on, 

1,  57,  86;  at  H.'s  silver  wedding  in  White 
House,    2,  318;  H.'s  friendship,  321    n., 
421. 

Herron,  Mrs.  J.  W.,  with  H.  after  wife's 
death,  2,  392  n.,  433. 

Herron,  Lucy  H.,  christening,  2,  319. 

Heth,  Henry,  West  Virginia  operations 
(1862),  1,  171,  174,  177. 

Hewitt,  A.  S.,  of  joint  committee  on  dis 
puted  election,  1,  524  n. ;  on  Electoral  Com 
mission  Bill,  526;  and  fraud  issue  (1878), 

156,  156  n. 

Higginson,  T.  W.,  on  Mrs.  Hayes,  2,  308, 

317  n. 
Hilbish,  Dr.  F.  S.,  and   H.'s  last  illness,  2, 

397,  398. 
Hill,  B.  H.,  and  disputed  election,  1,  520  n.; 

and  H.  's  Cabinet  appointments,  2,  29. 
Hill,  Ralph,  and  Iron-clad  Oath,  1,  284. 
Hiscock,  Frank,  and  fraud  issue  (1878),  2, 

157,  165. 

History,  H.'s  reading,  1,  67;  H.'s  interest  in 
Ohio  memorials,  349,  377;  in  Americana, 

2,  334,  442. 

Hitchcock,  Abigail  [Mrs.  Brown,  Mrs.  Eze- 
kiel  Hayes],  1,  5. 

Hoadley,  George,  lawyer  in  Cincinnati,  1, 
57 ;  H.  on  election  as  Governor,  2,  384. 

Hoar,  G.  F.,  of  joint  committee  on  disputed 
election,;!,  524  n. ;  of  Electoral  Commission, 
530  n.;  and  H.'s  Cabinet,  2,  22;  and  corn- 
mission  to  Louisiana  (1877),  45,  49;  on 
riders  (1879),  180  n.,  185  n.;  at  dinner  with 
H.,  327  n. 

Holcombe,  Martha  [Mrs.  Daniel  Hayes],  1, 

Holliday,  F.  W.  M.,  welcomes  H.  (1878),  2, 
265. 

Holloway,  W.  R.,  on  Cabinet  position  for 
J.  E.  Johnston,  2,  21  n.;  on  Morton's  anti 
pathy  to  Harrison,  23  n. ;  on  Thompson  as 
orator,  23  n. 

Holmes,  O.  W.,  H.  on  "Hunt  after  the  Cap 
tain,"  1,  205;  poem  to  H.,2,241  n.;  on  Mrs. 
Hayes,  316  n. 


Holt,  Joseph,  H.  on  (1862),  1,  161. 

Home  for  Soldiers'  Orphans,  H.  and,  in 
Ohio,  1,  339,  346,  348. 

Home  missions,  interest  of  Mrs.  Hayes,  2, 
386. 

Hood,  H.  G.,  wounded  at  South  Mountain, 
1,  200;  return  to  regiment,  206. 

Hook, ,  suggests  H.  for  President,  1, 425. 

Horton,  S.  D.,  International  Silver  Confer 
ence,  2,  127  n. 

Hotchkiss,  Jed.,  at  Cedar  Creek,  1,  255  n. 

How,  Artemus,  Vermont  company  (1782), 
1,  5. 

Howard,  D.  C.,  company  in  "23d  Ohio,  1, 
125;  in  West  Virginia  campaign  (1861), 
137. 

Howard,  J.  M.,  of  Committee  on  Library 
(1866)  ,1,281. 

Howard,  O.  O.,  and  freedmen,  1,  288;  at 
Southern  dinner  (1889),  2,  387  n. 

Howard,  W.  A.,  in  Republican  Convention 
(1876),  1,  450  n. 

Howe,  T.  O.,  of  Committee  on  Library  (1866), 
1,  281;  opposition  to  H.,  2,  89-91. 

Howells,  W.  D.,  on  grandmother  of  H.,  1, 
10;  on  H.'s  letter  of  acceptance,  466  n. 

Hubbard, ,  of  Ohio,  and  Fifteenth  Amend 
ment,  1,  360. 

Hubbell,  J.  R.,  H.  on,  1,  277. 

Hughes, ,  of  Kentucky  Senate,  and  Fif 
teenth  Amendment,  1,  358. 

Hulburd,  C.  T.,  of  Committee  on  Library 
(1866),  1,  281. 

Hunt,  S.  F.,  and  Fifteenth  Amendment,  1, 
360. 

Hunter,  A.  A.,  wounded  at  South  Mountain, 
1,  200. 

Hunter,  David,  Valley  campaign  (1864),  1, 
222-226;  unselfish  retirement,  231. 

Huntington,  Mrs.  Adda  C.,  and  death  of 
Mrs.  Hayes,  2,  390. 

Huntington,  Daniel,  paints  Mrs.  Hayes'  por 
trait,  2,  315  n.;  on  Mrs.  Hayes,  317  n. 

Hunton,  Eppa,  of  joint  committee  on  dis 
puted  election,  1,  524  n. ;  of  Electoral  Com 
mission,  530  n.;  of  Potter  Committee  (1878), 
157  n.,  165. 

Hyde.Jane  (Lee)  [Mrs.  John  Birchard],  1, 13. 

Illinois,  bill  for  legal  tender  of  silver,  2,  114. 
Imagination,  Emerson   on  lack  in  America, 

1,  63;  on  cultivation  in  children,  63. 
Immigration,  H.  on  home,  2,  258;  on  avoid 
ance  of  South,  289;  on  illiteracy,  291;  on 
restriction  (1892),  394. 

Inauguration,  H.  on  points  of  address,  1, 
522;  journey,  2,  3-5;  Grant's  state  dinner, 
5;  private  oath,  5;  proceedings,  crowd, 
5  n.,  6  n.;  address,  6-14;  reception  of  ad 
dress,  14;  antagonism  of  Republican  lead 
ers,  Elaine's  attack,  15-17. 

Income  tax,  records  of  presidential  candi 
dates  (1876),  1,  474. 

Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  H.  as 
member,  1,  60,  2,  336  n. 

Indiana,  Democratic  attitude  towards  re 
construction  (1871),  1,  358;  campaign 
(1876),  478-481,  483^85. 

Indianapolis,  H.'s  visit  and  speech  (1879), 
283. 

[ndianapolis  Journal,  on  H.'s   aphorism,  2, 

13  n. 
ndianapolis  News,   on  H.  as  peacemaker, 

2,  284. 

[ndians,  H.  and  education  and  allotment  of 
land,  2,  228-230,  291;  Ponca  episode, 
230-233. 


INDEX 


473 


Infantry,  comparison  of  Federal  and  Con 
federate,  1,  192. 

Inflation,  as  issue  in  Ohio  (1875),  1,  387, 
388,  391;  H.'s  campaign  speeches  on,  392- 
397,  401-405;  scheme  of  inflationists,  393; 
objections,  393;  and  centralization,  394, 
403;  Republican  attitude,  394;  Thurman's 
earlier  denunciation,  395,  401;  opposition 
of  Democratic  press,  395,  401 ;  and  borrow 
ing  power  and  repudiation,  396,  402;  at 
tempted  explanation  of  Democratic  plat 
form,  397;  courage  of  Ohio  Republican 
position,  407;  Pennsylvania  campaign 
(1875),  407;  in  Republican  party,  417; 
effect  of  passage  of  Resumption  Act,  417; 
as  issue  in  1876,  481,  483;  H.'s  speeches 
against  in  Northwest  (1878),  2,  257-264, 
266.  See  also  Paper  money,  Resumption, 
Silver. 

Ingersoll,  R.  G.,  speech  nominating  Elaine 
(1876),  1,  446;  in  campaign,  479. 

Inman,  Benjamin,  and  Mexican  War,  1, 
48  n. 

Innate  ideas,  H.  on  Locke's  doctrine,  1,  69. 

Insanity,  H.  on  criminal,  1,  86-91;  H.  and 
treatment  of  insane,  348. 

Interstate  Commerce  Law,  H.  on,  2,  384. 

Iowa  State  Register,  on  Mrs.  Hayes,  2,  306  n. 

Ironton  Journal,  on  nomination  of  H.  for 
Governor  (1875),  1,386  n. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  anecdote,  1,  163;  on  nul 
lification,  295,  323. 

Jackson,  B.  W.,  South  Mountain,  1,  199. 

Jackson,  H.  R.,  Peabody  Education  Fund, 
2,  351. 

Jackson,  T.  J.,  Antietam  campaign,  1,  197; 
H.  on.  as  hero,  352,  2,  340  n. 

Jacobs,  A.  R.,  scout  of  23d  Ohio,  H.  on,  1, 
186. 

Jacobs,  Sarah  [Mrs.  Elias  Birchard],  1,  14. 

James,  C.  P.,  Cincinnati  volunteer  home 
company,  1,  121;  at  H.'s  reunion  of  Liter 
ary  Club,  2,  323. 

James,  T.  L.,  reform  in  New  York  Post- 
office,  2,  93,  96. 

Jay,  John,  and  Declaration  of  Independence, 
1,  41. 

Jay,  John,  investigation  of  New  York  Cus 
tom  House,  2,  77. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  on  Marshall's  sophistry, 
1,  33;  on  Federal  judiciary,  43;  on  judges 
and  public  opinion,  44;  and  equality  of 
rights,  294;  on  free  schools,  2,  291. 

Jerickes,  T.  A.,  and  civil  service,  2,  71. 

Jenkins,  A.  G.,  in  West  Virginia  campaign 
(1861),  1,  153;  (1862),  172;  raid  on  Point 
Pleasant,  209;  Cloyd  Mountain,  killed, 
218,  221,  275. 

Jenks,  Mrs.  Agnes  D.,  before  Potter  Com 
mittee,  2, 157. 

Jesup,  M.  K.,  Slater  Fund,  2,  352. 

Jewell,  Marshall,  candidacy  for  presidential 
nomination  (1876),  1,  445,  449;  and  Conk- 
ling,  515. 

Jewett,  H.  J.,  and  payment  of  Morgan  raid 
claims,  1,  338  n. 

Joel,  J.  A.,  from  H.  (1871)  on  retirement, 
1,  365  n. 

Johnson,  Andrew,  H.'s  distrust,  1,  272;  ac 
tion  on  reconstruction,  276,  283,  307; 
break  with  Congress,  277,  279,  280,  289; 
policy  and  Iron-clad  Oath,  284,  285. 

Johnson,  B.  T.,  in  Valley  campaign  (1864), 
1,  228. 

Johnson,  R.  M.,  on  stump  in  Ohio  (1840), 
1,98. 


Johnson,  Reverdy,  and  Reconstruction  Acts, 
1,311. 

Johnston,  J.  E.,  and  H.'s  Cabinet,  2,  18,  20. 

Johnston,  William,  lawyer  in  Cincinnati,  1» 
57;  H.  on,  72  n.,  2,  421  n.;  an  attempted 
repeal  of  Federal  election  laws,  172  n.;  on 
H.'s  reticence,  415;  H.'s  friendship,  421. 

Jones,  G.  W.,  on  H.'s  inaugural  (1875),  1, 
410  n.;  H.'s  friendship,  2,  321  n.  _ 

Jones,  J.  P.,  on  Grant  and  troops  in  South 
(1877),  2,  33  n. 

Judah,  H.  M.,  and  Morgan's  raid,  1,  211. 

Judiciary,  Jefferson  and  influence  of  public 
opinion,  1,  44;  H.  on  return  to  appointive 
Ohio  (1S70),  340;  H.  and  appointments  to 
Ohio,  347;  H.  on  his  Federal  appointments, 
2,  89  n.  See  also  Law,  Supreme  Court. 

Junction  Railway  Company,  bridge  case,  1, 
92. 

Jury,  repeal  of  Federal  test  oath,  2,  170, 
203  n. 

Kane,  T.  M.,  in  college,  sectional  feeling,  1, 
26;  career,  26  n. 

Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  influence  on  H.,  1, 
104;  H.  on  Democratic  split  over,  105;  on 
South  and,  105. 

Kansas  struggle,  and  Republican  party,  1, 
113. 

Kasson,  J.  A.,  correspondence  with  H.  (1876) 
on  representative  at  Washington,  1,  517, 
517  n.,  518  n.;  H.  on  appointment  to  for 
eign  mission,  2,  89  n. 

Kearney,  Dennis,  Sand-Lots  agitation,  2, 
211. 

Keeler,  Lucy  E.,  on  Hayes  homestead  at 
Brattleboro  and  grandmother  of  H.,  1, 
11-13;  and  death  of  Mrs.  Hayes,  2,  390; 
on  Spiegel  Grove,  441-450. 

Keifer,  J.  W.,  tribute  to  H.,  2,  404. 

Kellar,  A.  J.,  influence  during  disputed  elec 
tion,  1,  520. 

Kelley,  B.  F.,  captured,  1,  267. 

Kelley,  W.  D.,  H.  on,  in  Congress  (1865), 
1,  278  n.,  of  Committee  on  Library,  281; 
in  Ohio  campaign  (1875),  405;  in  cam 
paign  of  1876,  479. 

Kellogg,  W.  P.,  as  Governor  of  Louisiana,  2, 
34;  and  J.  E.  Anderson,  158. 

Kennedy,  R.  P.,  on  capture  of  Crook,  1,  268; 
Loyal  Legion  minute  on  H.,  2,  405. 

Kenneth  II  of  Scotland,  battle  of  Loncart, 
1,  1,  2. 

Kennon,  T.  H.,  in  West  Virginia  operations 
(1861),  1,  154. 

Kent,  James,  H.  on,  on  real  property,  1,  40; 
on  counting  of  electoral  votes,  523  n. 

Kentucky,  H.  on  situation  (1861),  1,  121  n.; 
Morgan's  raid  (1862),  184;  Bragg's  cam 
paign,  191-193;  H.'s  toast  to  Ohio  and, 
352,  353;  Democratic  attitude  towards 
reconstruction  (1871),  357;  H.'s  visit  and 
speech  (1877),  2,  248-250. 

Kenyon  College,  H.  at,  1,  18-28;  sectional 
division  of  literary  societies,  27;  H.  at 
alumni  banquet  (1892),  2,  394;  tribute  of 
alumni  to  H.,  408. 

Kernstown,  battle  (1864),  1,  229,  230. 

Kerr,  M.  C.,  Speakership  and  sound  money 
issue  (1875),  1,  428  n. 

Kershaw,  J.  B.,  Berryville,  1,  236. 

Key,  D.  M.,  as  Southern  member  of  H.'s 
Cabinet,  2,  21,  287;  attitude  towards  offer, 
21  n.',  opposition  to  confirmation,  25—29, 
82;  as  member  of  Cabinet,  31;  appoint^ 
ment  as  jud^e,  32  n. ;  on  conditions  in  South 
under  restored  white  control,  372;  and 


474 


INDEX 


congressional  dictation  of  appointments, 
76  n.\  and  Bland  Silver  Bill,  123;  on  revo 
lutionary  purpose  of  Potter  Committee, 
154;  opinion  of  Anderson's  testimony, 
159  n. ;  and  veto  of  Army  Appropriation 
Bill,  186  n.;  with  H.  in  New  England  tour, 
242;  in  Southern  tour,  248  n.\  humor, 
303  n. 
Kimberley,  D.  H.,  report  on  Morgan's  raid, 

1,  212  n. 

Kimmel,  William,  and  fraud  issue   (1878), 

2,  156  n. 

Kitchings,  J.  H.,  brigade  at  Cedar  Creek,  1* 

256. 
Knowlton,  Luke,  British  intrigue  in  Vermont, 

1,9. 
Know-Nothing  party,  H.  and,  1,  106  n.,  108; 

and    Republicans    in    Cincinnati    (1859), 

110;  H.'s  attitude  as  issue  in  1876,  476- 

478,  485. 
Knoxville,  H.'s  visit  (1877),  3,  250. 

Labor,  and  election  of  1892,  2,  376;  H.  on 
conditions  (1887),  381-385.  See  also 
Strikes. 

Lake  Mohonk  Conference,  H.'s  interest,  his 
address  on  purpose,  2,  354;  tribute  to 
H.,  407,  408. 

Lamar,  L.  Q.  C.,  and  H.'s  Cabinet,  2,  29;  and 
commission  to  Louisiana  (1877),  45,  49. 

Lane,  Ebenezer,  and  H.'s  purpose  to  volunteer 
(1847),  letter  to  Prof.  Mitchel,  1,  47. 

Larcom,  Lucy,  on  Mrs.  Hayes,  2,  317  n. 

Law,  H.  on,  as  career,  1,  28;  on  application 
to  study,  29,  30;  on  reading  for  authori 
ties,  34;  Greenleaf's  idea  of  lawyer,  39; 
Greenleaf  on  pleading,  36;  H.  on  diffi 
culties  of  real  property,  40,  41;  lawyers  in 
Cincinnati  (1850),  57;  H.  on  criminal  in 
sanity,  86-91 ;  on  rights  of  criminal  defend 
ant,  91,  92;  railway  bridge  over  navigable 
waters,  92.  See  also  Story. 

Lawrence,  C.  B.,  commission  to  Louisiana 
(1877),  2,  54;  and  free  silver,  119. 

Lawrence,  William,  H.  on  (1865),  1,  277. 

Lebanon,  Conn.,  Birchard  family,  1,  13. 

Lebanon,  Ohio,  H.'s  speech  (1867),  1,  293- 
320. 

Le  Due,  W.  G.,  H.  on  appointment,  3,  89  n. 

Lee,  A.  E.,  and  H.'s  reply  to  American  Alli 
ance  (1876),  1,  477. 

Lee,  Jane  [Mrs.  Hyde,  Mrs.  John  Birchard], 
1,  13. 

Lee,  R.  E.,  in  West  Virginia  (1861),  1,  130, 
135,  136,  143;  Second  Bull  Run,  189-193; 
Antietam  campaign,  193-201;  H.  on,  2, 
340  n. 

Lee,  Sarah  [Mrs.  Daniel  Hayes],  1,  4. 

Legal  tenders.    See  Paper  money. 

Legislature,  Story  on  hasty  legislation,  1, 
43;  Matthews  on  danger  in  large  party 
majority,  104;  H.  on  excessive  legislation 
and  long  sessions,  329,  336,  341,  345;  cor 
ruption  as  issue  in  Ohio  (1875),  389  n.  See 
also  Congress. 

Leonard,  J.  E.,  and  J.  E.  Anderson,  3,  158. 

Leppelmann, ,  and  Birchard  Library  of 

Fremont,  1,  380  n. 

Lerqy, ,  attempt  to  blackmail  H.,  1,475. 

Leslie,  P.  H.,  and  Reconstruction  Amend 
ments  (1871),  1,  358. 

Lesseps,  Ferdinand  de,  United  States  and 
Panama  Canal  scheme,  2,  218-224. 

Letcher,  John,  enforcement  of  draft,  1,  169; 
house  burnt  by  Hunter,  H.'s  disapproval, 
223. 

Letters  of  acceptance  (1876),  H.'s,  1,  460- 


466;  Tilden's,  467;  H.'s  adhesion  to,  in 
inaugural,  2,  6,  11,  12  n. 

Lewis,  William,  and  Hamilton's  bank  argu 
ment,  1,  42. 

Lewisburg,  W.  Va.,  battle  (1862),  1,  177; 
Federal  movement  against  (1863),  214. 

Lexington,  Va.,  Hunter's  occupation  (1864), 
1,  223. 

Liberal  Republicans,  H.  on  convention  (1872), 

1,  366,  367;  on  Greeley  as  candidate,  367, 
372-374;  and  campaign  of  1876,  472. 

Library  of  Congress,  H.'s  interest,  1,  281. 

"Life-saving  station"  story,  2,  312  n. 

Lilienthal,  Max,  welcomes  H.,  2,  247. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  H.'s  advice  on  Cincin 
nati  speech  (1859),  1,  110;  H.'s  impres 
sions,  111;  H.  on  campaign  of  I860,  115, 
116;  Cincinnati  reception  (1861),  118; 
H.  on  probable  policy,  118;  H.'s  optim 
ism  (1861),  144,  145;  H.  on  compensated 
emancipation,  157;  and  colors  of  23d  Ohio, 
203;  H.  expects  reelection,  252;  H.  on 
assassination  and  fame,  271,  272;  and  res 
toration  of  Union,  301;  and  Dickson, 
436  n.;  H.  on  Gettysburg  and,  2,  255;  on 
issues  of  Civil  War,  270-274;  H.  on,  as 
President,  283,  387  n.;  H.  on,  as  incarna 
tion  of  Civil  War  ideas,  342,  343;  basis  of 
leadership,  343  n. ;  on  attacks,  429  n. 

Lincoln,  R.  T.,  H.  on  presidential  candidacy, 

2,  366. 

Literature,  Emerson  on  lack  of  American 
imaginative  men,  1,  63;  on  autobiographi 
cal  character  of  fiction,  63;  H.'s  reading, 
66-73,  79,  114  n.,  179,  380  n.,  2,  432;  H. 
on  early  English  poets,  1,  66;  on  Bible  as, 
72. 

Little,  John,  in  campaign  of  1876,  1,  478. 

Livingston,  R.  R.,  on  Hamilton,  1,  42. 

Local  government,  H.  on  increase  of  taxa 
tion  and  debt  in  Ohio  (1869),  1,  336,  338  n., 
339,  342;  on  corruption  and  investigation 
(1872),  344;  as  issue  in  Ohio  campaign 
(1875),  387;  H.  on  misgovernment  and 
expenditures,  404,  408,  409;  reform  meas 
ures,  410;  H.  on  effect  of  application  of 
national  politics,  412;  H.  on  avoiding 
debt,  2,  279. 

Locke,  John,  H.  on  doctrine  of  innate  ideas, 
1,  69. 

Logan,  J.  A.,  in  Republican  National  Con 
vention  (1876),  1,  444;  on  H.'s  letter  of 
acceptance,  466  n. ;  and  H.'s  Cabinet,  2, 
22,  29. 

Logan,  Olive,  and  H.,  2,  415  n. 

Loncart,  battle,  1,  1,  2. 

London,  Emerson  on  clubs  1,  61;  on  "good 
society,"  62. 

London  Times,  on  disputed  election  of  1876, 
1,  512. 

Long,  Alexander,  not  renominated  (1864), 
1,  238. 

Longfellow,  H.  W.,  on  Goethe,  1,  44;  on 
H.'s  Cabinet,  2,  29  n.;  on  Mrs.  Hayes, 
316  n. 

Longstreet,  James,  on  reconstruction,  1,  314. 

Lord, ,  of  Cincinnati  congressional  can 
didacy  (1864),  1,  238. 

Los  Angeles,  H.'s  visit,  2,  293. 

Louisiana,  Wheeler  Compromise,  1,  452  n.; 
H.  and  visiting  statesmen,  49o  n. ,  496, 
498  n.;  H.  on  contest  and  results,  503, 
504,  506,  508  n.;  report  to  H.  on  Return 
ing  Board  count,  504  n.,  507;  Grant  and 
continuance  of  military  protection  of  gov 
ernment  (1877),  2,  33  n.,  35;  rival  govern 
ments,  35;  State  affairs  and  disputed  Fed- 


INDEX 


475 


era!  election,  35;  Northern  opinion  of  con 
ditions,  36-38;  H.'s  policy  and  consis 
tency,  38-40;  difficulties  of  policy,  40; 
Matthews'  letter  to  Packard,  reply,  41, 
42;  possible  plans,  45;  presidential  com 
mission,  instructions,  45-49,  54-56;  Eliot's 
letter  on  conditions,  46  n.-49  n.;  New  Or 
leans  petition  to  H.,  56;  conditions  on 
arrival  of  commission,  57-59,  61,  62;  legal 
legislature  organized,  59,  61,  63;  with 
drawal  of  troops,  fall  of  Packard's  govern 
ment,  60,  63;  pledge  of  Democratic  govern 
ment,  60  n.;  Packard's  address,  61;  report 
of  commission,  61—64;  legal  basis  of  Demo 
cratic  claim,  relation  to  electoral  count, 
62;  Northern  opinion  of  results,  verdict  of 
history,  64-68;  accusation  of  bargain,  66, 
67;  Federal  offices  for  Returning  Board 
and  visiting  statesmen,  108;  prosecution 
of  Returning  Board,  143 ;  charge  of  Repub 
lican  bargain  with  Returning  Board,  145, 
150,  157;  suppression  of  negro  suffrage 
(1878),  175.  See  also  Reconstruction. 

Louisville,  H.'s  visit  (1877),  2,  248-250. 

Louisville  Courier- Journal,  on  H.'s  contest 
with  Congress  (1879),  2,  206. 

Lovejoy,  H.  S.,  in  West  Virginia  (1862),  1, 
206. 

Lowe,  J.  W.,  killed  at  Carnifex  Ferry,  1,  136. 

Lowell,  J.  R.,  to  H.  (1877)  on  report  of  in 
tention  to  change  electoral  vote,  1,  500  n.; 
on  H.'s  Cabinet,  2,  29  n. ;  H.  on  appoint 
ment  to  foreign  mission,  89  n. ;  H.  011  writ 
ings,  434  n. 

Loyal  Legion,  H.  as  commander,  2,  343;  H. 
on  purpose  and  teachings,  344-346;  trib 
ute  to  H.,  404,  405. 

Loyalty,  Dana  on,  1,  36. 

Luddington,  H.  C.,  at  H.'s  funeral,  2,  443. 

Lyceum,  in  Cincinnati,  1,  60,  61;  Emerson 
as  lecturer,  61,  64. 

Lyman,  Theodore,  Peabody  Education  Fund, 
2,  351. 

Lynchburg,  Va.,  Hunter's  advance  and  re 
treat  (1864),  1,  224;  H.'s  visit  (1877),  2, 
250. 

Lytle,  W.  H.,  wounded  at  Carnifex  Ferry, 
1,  136;  War  Democrat,  301. 

Macaulay,  Lord,  Emerson  on,  1,  62,  63,  65. 

McBride,  L.  H.,  at  Opequon,  1,  245. 

McCabe,  L.  D.,  at  H.'s  wedding,  1,  81;  at 
H.'s  silver  wedding,  2,  318,  319;  at  Mrs. 
Hayes'  funeral,  390. 

McCausland,  John,  and  Federal  railroad 
raid  (1864),  1,  217,  219. 

McClcllan,  G.  B.,  in  West  Virginia  (1861), 
1, 128;  H.  on  operations,  147,  161,  165, 168, 
178,  180,  181;  restoration  to  command, 
191;  popularity,  192;  Antietam  campaign, 
193-201;  H.  on  removal,  201,  206;  H.  on 
nomination,  233  n.,  236-238. 

McClure,  A.  K.,  on  Mrs.  Hayes  as  mistress 
of  White  House,  2,  299  n. 

McCook,  G.  W.,  desired  as  colonel  by  II.,  1, 
127;  campaign  for  governor  (1871),  355; 
and  Fifteenth  Amendment,  300,  361. 

McCook,  R.  L.,  in  West  Virginia  campaign 
(1861),  1,  132,  138,  139, 151;  Mills  Springs, 
wounded,  162;  murdered,  H.  on,  186;  War 
Democrat,  301. 

McCormick,  R.  C.,  from  H.  (1876)  on  cam 
paign  assessments,  1,  482,  482  n. ;  on  Octo 
ber  States,  484;  on  Tilden  and  Electoral 
Commission,  539;  H.  on  bureau  appoint 
ment,  2,  89  n. 

McCrary,  G.  W.,  of  joint  committee  on  dis 


puted  election,  1,  524  n.;  in  H.'s  Cabinet, 
2,  17,  22;  confirmed,  28;  as  member  of 
Cabinet,  31;  appointment  as  judge,  32  n.; 
from  H.  (1877)  directing  removal  of  troops 
from  Columbia  State  House,  52;  civil  serv 
ice  reform  orders,  76  n. ;  and  Bland  Silver 
Bill,  123;  and  veto  of  Army  Appropriation 
Bill,  186  n.;  at  reunion  of  23d  Ohio  (1877), 
247;  in  H.'s  Southern  tour  (1877),  248  n.; 
humor,  303  n. 

McCulloch,  Ben,  Texan  Ranger,  1,  52. 
McCulloch,  Hugh,  and  reduction  of  Federal 

debt,  2,  280. 

McCurdy,  John,  in  West  Virginia  operations 
(1862),  1,  171,  178. 

McDowell, ,    in    Cincinnati   law    office 

with  H.,  1,  93. 
McDowell,  Irvin,  denounced  by  soldiers,  1» 

192. 
McFarland.iMiss,  in  H.'s  Southern  trip  (1877) , 

2,  248  n. 
McGroarty,  Stephen,  wounded  at  Carnifex 

Ferry,  1,  136. 
Mcllrath,  J.  P.,  in  Pearisburg  raid    (1862), 

1,  175  n.;  major,  23d  Ohio,  202. 
Mack.O.  A.,  battery  in  West  Virginia  (1861), 

1,  137. 

McKee,  Samuel,  on  effect  on  South  of  Demo 
cratic  success  (1876),  1,  494  n. 
McKinley,  William,  on  H.'s  tact  with  new 
regiment,  1,  126;  H.  on  (1862),  205;  in 
Antietam  campaign,  205  n. ;  on  H.'s  staff, 
240  n.;  first  vote,  263;  on  nomination  of 
H.  for  Governor  (1875),  386;  opposes  re 
tirement  of  greenbacks  (1878),  2,  129  n.; 
opinion  of  Anderson's  testimony,  159  n.; 
oration  at  reunion  of  23d  Ohio  (1877),  247; 
on  H.,  247  n.;  social  relations  with  Pres. 
H.,  310  n.;  H.  on  presidential  candidacy 
(1888),  371,  372;  H.  on  defeat  (1890)  and 
future  governorship,  375;  in  Republican 
Convention  (1892),  376;  at  H.'s  funeral, 
399,  400;  tribute  to  H.,  405;  H.'s  friend 
ship,  422;  on  State  acquisition  of  Spiegel 
Grove,  447. 
McLaughlin,  George  (or  J.  W.),  Cincinnati 

volunteer  home  company,  1,  121. 
McLean,  John,  navigable-waters  case  by  H. 

before,  1,  92. 
McLean,  Washington,  on  disputed  election, 

1,  538  n. 

McLin,  S.  B.,  ''confessions"  of  Florida  Re 
turning  Board,  2,  149,  159,  160. 
McMahon,  J.  A.,  of  Potter  Committee  (1878), 

2,  157  n.;  and  Federal  election  law  rider, 
200. 

McMullen,  J.  R.,  battery  in  West  Virginia 
campaign  (1861),  1,  132,  134;  (1862),  169, 
182;  and  Mprgan's  raid  (1863),  210. 

McNeal,  Sterling,  H.  on,  1,  50. 

McNeill,  J.  C.,  captures  Crook,  1,  267. 

McPherson,  Edward,  in  Republican  Conven 
tion  (1876),  1,  444;  speech  notifying  H. 
of  nomination,  455;  H.  on  bureau  appoint 
ment,  2,  89  n. 

Macready,  W.  C..  H.  on,  as  Hamlet,  1,  36. 

McVeagh,  Wayne,  on  Southern  issue  (1876), 

1,  484;  commission  to  Louisiana  (1877), 

2,  54. 

McVey, .guerrillain  West  Virginia,  1,163. 

Madison,  James,  political  ethics,  1,  438  n.; 
H.  on,  and  Constitution,  2,  264,  205;  on 
democracy  and  public  education,  2'J2. 

Madison,  Wis.,  H.'s  speech  (1878).  2,  259. 

Magoffin,  Beriah,  and  secession.  1,  121  n. 

Mallory,  S.  R.,  on  Reconstruction  Acts,  1, 
313. 


476 


INDEX 


Manchester,  C.  E.,  on  H.  at  South  Moun 
tain,  1,  199  n. 

Manderson,  C.  F.,  at  Grand  Army  Encamp 
ment  (1892),  2,  393  n. 

Manning,  T.  C.,  on  conviction  of  Anderson, 
2,  144. 

Mansfield,  Sir  James,  Story  on,  1,  35. 

Mansfield  Liberal,  on  H.  in  campaign  (1875), 
1,406. 

Manual  training,  H.'s  advocacy,  2,  356,  357. 

Marble,  Manton,  and  Democratic  platform 
(1876),  1,  467;  charges  against,  as  visiting 
statesman  to  Florida,  Cipher  Dispatches, 
2,  159,  160,  162,  164  n.,  165;  letter  on  reve 
lations  of  Potter  Committee,  160. 

Marietta,  soldiers'  reunion,  H.'s  speech 
(1877),  2,  245. 

Marion,  Ohio,  H.'s  political  speech  (1875), 
1,  392-7400. 

Markbreit,  Leopold,  partnership  with  H.,  1, 
119;  in  West  Virginia  (1861),  131,  138. 

Marsh,  G.  P.,  H.  on  appointment,  2,  89  n. ; 
and  Washington  Monument,  226  n. 

Marshall,  John,  Story  on  greatness,  1,  32; 
Jefferson  on  sophistry,  33;  on  Hamilton, 
42;  on  Wirt  and  Webster  as  pleaders,  45. 

Marshall,  Humphrey,  West  Virginia  opera 
tions  (1862),  1,  174,  176. 

Martineau,  Harriet,  on  Cincinnati  (1837), 
1,56. 

Maryland,  memorial  to  Congress  on  fraud 
issue,  2,  146-148,  156  n. 

Mason,  George,  on  judicial  dependence  on 
public  opinion,  1,  44. 

Mather,  Cotton,  Sparks  on  character,  1, 
33. 

Mathews,  H.  M.,  4,  in  H.'s  Southern  tour 
(1877),  2,  248  n. 

Matthews,  Stanley,  on  H.'s  college  traits,  1, 
19  n.;  lawyer  in  Cincinnati,  57;  on  danger 
in  large  legislative  majority,  104;  plans 
for  military  service,  122;  lieutenant-colo 
nel,  23d  Ohio,  124;  tact  with  soldiers, 
126  n.;  patriotism  of  mother,  129;  in  West 
Virginia  campaign  (1861),  130,  131;  leave 
of  absence,  143;  colonel,  51st  Ohio,  147; 
War  Democrat,  301;  on  supposed  Repub 
lican  defeat  (1876),  493  n.;  argument  be 
fore  Electoral  Commission,  531  n.;  con 
ference  with  Southerners  on  H.'s  policy, 
533,  534,  2,  66,  67;  on  Davis  and  Electoral 
Commission,  1,  537  n.;  to  H.  (1877)  on 
precautions  for  journey,  2,  2;  letters  to 
Packard  and  Chamberlain,  replies  and 
candidacy  for  Senate,  41-44;  H.  and  can 
didacy,  44  n.;  and  New  York  Custom 
House  appointments,  94;  resolution  on 
payment  of  bonds  in  silver,  128;  charge 
of  assurance  to  Louisiana  Returning 
Board,  145,  148;  appointment  to  Supreme 
Court,  opposition  to  confirmation,  327  n.; 
H.'s  friendship,  421. 

Maynard,  Horace,  Postmaster-General,  2, 
32  n.;  H.  on  appointment  to  foreign  mis 
sion,  89  n. 

Mead,  W.  R.,  furniture  designed  by,  2,  443. 
Meadow  Bluff,  W.  Va.,  Federal  troops  at 

(1864),  1,  221. 

Me  Hll,  Joseph,  on  Democratic  platform 
(1876),  1,  467  n.;  on  H.'s  Southern  policy, 
2,  38  n. ;  opposes  veto  of  Bland  Silver  Bill, 
122  n. 

Meigs,  J.  R.,  retaliation  for  murder,  1,  252. 
Meline,  J.   F.,    Cincinnati   volunteer   home 

company,  1,  121. 

Merritt,  E.  A.,  contest  over  appointment  as 
Surveyor,  2,  86,  87;  and  as  Collector,  92- 


94;  H.'s  orders  to,  for  reform  in  custom 
house,  95;  on  results  of  reform,  96  n. 

Merritt,  Wesley,  cavalry  command  in  the 
Valley,  1,  232;  Opequon,  239  n. 

Methodist  Church,  Mrs.  Hayes'  connec 
tion,  1,  309;  her  interest  in  home  missions, 
386. 

Mexican  War,  H.  and  enlistment,  1,  46-48; 
attitude  of  future  Peace  Democrats,  324. 

Mexico,  H.'s  order  to  pursue  raiders  over 
border,  2,  208-211. 

Miles,  N.  A.,  Ponca  Indian  Commission,  2, 
231  n. 

Miller,  Mrs.  A.  H.,  and  death  of  Mrs.  Hayes, 
2,  390;  H.'s  friendship,  423. 

Miller,  S.  F.,  Electoral  Commission,  1,  530  n. 

Mills  Springs,  battle,  1,  162. 

Miner,  J.  L.,  lawyer  in  Cincinnati,  partner  of 
Gholson,  1,  58. 

Minority  representation,  H.  and,  on  State 
boards,  1,  346. 

Mississippi,  conditions  (1866),  1,  309;  H.  on 
reconstruction,  337.  See  also  Reconstruc 
tion. 

Mississippi  Index,  on  education  of  negroes, 

1,  314. 

Mississippi  River,  steamer  life  (1848),  1,  49. 
Mitchel,  O.  M.,  from  Judge  Lane  (1847)  on 

H.,  1,  47. 
Mitchell,  John  G.,  in  H.'s  Pacific  Coast  tour, 

2,  293. 

Mitchell,  D.  G.,  H.  on  writings,  1,  71. 

Mitchell,  Laura  (Platt),  at  H.'s  wedding,  1, 
81;  on  his  honeymoon,  81  n.;  at  H.'s  silver 
wedding,  2, 318;  and  death  of  Mrs.  Hayes, 
390. 

Money,  fall  of  gold  (1865),  1,  269.  See  also 
Inflation,  Paper  money,  Resumption,  Sil 
ver. 

Monocacy,  battle,  1,  227. 

Monopolies,  H.  on  evils  (1887),   2,  382-385. 

Monroe,  Winnie,  as  servant  in  White  House, 
2,  301  n. 

Moor,  August,  in  West  Virginia  (1861),  1, 
131;  captured  in  Antietam  campaign,  167; 
in  the  Valley  (1864),  223. 

Moore,  F.  W.,  in  West  Virginia  (1861),  1, 
132. 

Moral  sense,  H.  on  Paley's  discussion,  1,  68, 
69. 

Morgan,  E.  D.,  in  Republican  Convention 
(1876),  1,  473;  H.'s  campaign  correspond 
ent,  470  n. ;  and  Conkling,  515. 

Morgan,  J.  H.,  raids  (1862),  1,  184;  (1863), 
210-212;  at  Wytheville  (1864),  221. 

Mormons,  H.  on  control,  2,  225  n.,  365, 
366  n. 

Moro  Castle,  Mississippi  River  steamer 
(1848),  1,  49. 

Morrill,  L.  M.,  and  Stalwarts,  J,  515. 

Morrison,  W.R.,  of  Potter  Committee  (1878), 
2,  157  n. 

Morton,  G.  R.,  and  State  Librarian,  1,  347. 

Morton,  L.  P.  H.,on  vice-presidential  nomi 
nation,  2,  371;  at  Grand  Army  Encamp 
ment  (1892),  293  n. 

Morton,  O.  P.,  in  Ohio  sound-money  cam 
paign  (1875),  1,405;  and  inflation,  417; 
as  candidate  for  presidential  nomination 
(1876),  character,  418;  H.  on,  419  71.,  479  n., 
2,247 n., 284;  and  reformers,  1,  431;  prob 
able  effects  of  nomination,  435  n.,  436  n.; 
speech  nominating,  446;  in  balloting,  448- 
451;  withdrawn,  451;  and  H.'s  letter  of 
acceptance,  466  n.;  H.'s  campaign  corre 
spondent,  470  n. ;  and  campaign  in  Indiana, 
478-480;  on  uniqueness  of  disputed  elec- 


INDEX 


477 


tion,  401  n.;  and  Electoral  Commission 
Bill,  524,  525  n.;  of  Electoral  Commission, 
530  n.;  and  H.'s  Cabinet,  antipathy  to 
Harrison,  2,  18,  21  n.,  23;  Chinese  immi 
gration  investigation,  212;  H.'s  visit  (1877), 
246  n. 

Mosby,  J.  S.,  in  H.'s  visit  .,0  Montpelier,  2, 
264~7i. 

Mound  City,  disaster,  1,  180. 

Mount  Vernon  Democratic  Banner,  on  H.'s 
valedictory  at  college,  1»  28. 

Mountain  Cove,  W.  Va.,  Federal  winter 
camp  (1861),  1,  141. 

Mulligan,  J.  A.,  Kernstown,  mortally  wound 
ed,  1,  229,  230. 

Murray,  L.  C.,  at  Southern  dinner  in  New 
Y9rk  (1889),  2,  387  n. 

Music,  H.  on,  1,  81  n. 

Mussey,  R.  D.,  Cincinnati  physician,  1,  48; 
at  H.'s  reunion  of  Literary  Club,  2,  323. 

Nash,  C.  E.,  and  J.  E.  Anderson,  2,  158. 
Nashville,  H.'s  visit  (1877),  2,  250. 
Nation,  on  decision  of  Electoral  Commission, 

1,  530  n. ;  on  attitude  of  Southern  Congress 
men,  532  n.;  on  H.'s  inaugural,  2,  15;  on 
H.'s  appointments,  108. 

National  banks,  veto  of  Refunding  Bill  as 

affecting  circulation  (1881),  2,  137-140. 
National  Prison  Association,  H.  as  president, 

2,  346-348;  H.  on  aims,  394;  tribute  to  H., 
406. 

Nationalism.  See  Union. 

Naughton,  James,  wounded  at  South  Moun 
tain,  1,  200. 

Navigable  waters,  case  on  railway  bridge,  1, 
93. 

Neal,  T.    S.,  in  West  Virginia  (1862),  1,  171. 

Negro  soldiers,  H.  on,  1,  209;  opposition  of 
Peace  Democrats,  302;  in  American  con 
tests,  315;  in  regular  army,  316. 

Negroes,  H.  on  necessity  of  protecting  f reed- 
men  (1866),  1,  286,  287;  H.'s  impression  of 
freedmen,  288;  and  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  294;  ante-bellum  citizenship, 
315,  316;  repeal  of  Ohio  black  code,  329; 
intimidation  in  South  (1876),  486,  488;  ex 
pected  effect  of  Democratic  success  on, 
493,  494  n.,  496;  H.'s  inaugural  on  pro 
tection,  2,  7,  8,  12,  12  n.;on  need  of  educa 
tion,  8;  place  in  H.'s  Southern  policy,  41, 
44,  46,  48  n.,  64,  64  n.,  66,  252;  Peabody 
and  Slater  Funds,  350-354;  H.  on  purpose 
of  Lake  Mohonk  Conference,  354;  on 
future  of  race,  355  n.;  Buckner  on  prob 
lem  (1889),  388  n.  See  also  Negro  soldiers, 
Slavery,  Suffrage. 

Nepotism,  H.  and,  2,  75,  89  n.,  420. 

Newark,  N.  J.,  founding,  1,  7  n. 

Newberry,  J.  S.,  Ohio  Geological  Survey,  1, 

t  347. 

New  Braunfels,  Texas,  in  1849,  1,  53. 

Newbury,  Rebecca  [Mrs.  John  Russell],  1,  7. 

"New  departure,"  H.  on  Democratic,  in 
Ohio  (1871),  1,  355-361. 

New  Hampshire,  election  (1877),  2,  89  n., 
90,  145. 

New  Madrid,  capture,  1,  179. 

New  Market,  Va.,  Sigel's  defeat  (1864),  1, 
222. 

New  Mexico,  illiteracy,  2,  291. 

New  Orleans,  cholera  (1849),  1,  49,  54;  H.'s 
visit  (1866),  288.  See  also  Louisiana. 

New  Orleans  Democrat,  on  H.  in  New  Or 
leans  (1866),  1,  289. 

Newspapers,  H.  on  reading,  1,  30,  2,  358  n. 

New  York,  importance  in  campaign  of  1876, 


1,  481,  485,  486,  495;  Stalwart  attitude  in 
campaign,  506;  election  (1879),  206  n. 

New  York  City,  Grant's  funeral,  2,  354; 
Centennial  of  Washington's  Inauguration, 
386. 

New  York  Custom  House,  investigations 
(1877),  2,  77,  91;  H.'s  reform  order,  77- 
79;  order  defied,  85;  suspension  of  officials, 
contest  in  Senate  over  new  appointments, 
86-94;  H.'s  special  message  on,  93;  re 
forms  under  new  officials,  95,  102. 

New  York  Evening  Post,  verses  on  H.  (1878), 

2,  155  n.;  on  H.'s  speech  on  nationalism 
(1879),  276. 

New  York  Herald,  on  H.'s  attitude  before 
Republican  Convention,  1,  44 1  n. ;  on  Ev- 
arts  and  State  portfolio,  2,  24  n. ;  on  car 
petbag  governments  (1877),  40  n.;  on 
H.'s  appointments,  80  n.;  on  H.  and  con 
test  with  Congress,  205  n. ;  on  H.'s  adapt 
ability,  415  n. 

New  York  Postoffice,  reforms,  2,  93,  96,  102. 

New  York  Sun,  attacks  on  H.,  2,  429,  430. 
See  also  Dana,  C.  A. 

New  York  Times,  on  H.'s  last  message  as 
Governor  (1877),  1,  412  n.;  on  H.'s  atti 
tude  towards  presidential  candidacy,  427; 
on  H.'s  letter  of  acceptance,  466;  on  H.'s 
character,  505  n.;  on  Elaine's  attack  on 
H.,  2,  16  n.;  on  Tilden  and  Cipher  Dis 
patches,  166  n. 

New  York  Tribune,  on  H.  in  Pennsylvania 
campaign  (1875),  1,  407  n.;  on  Matthews' 
letter  to  Chamberlain  (1877),  2,  44  n.;  on 
conditions  in  South  Carolina,  49  n. ;  on  re 
moval  of  troops,  51  n.;  on  conditions  in 
Louisiana,  57  n.,  60  n.;  on  H.  and  nepo 
tism,  75  n.;  on  H.  and  office-seekers,  76  n.; 
on  Merritt  as  Collector,  96  n. ;  and  Cipher 
Dispatches,  161;  on  Cleveland  at  H.'s 
funeral,  399  n. 

New  York  World,  on  negro  suffrage,  1,  317: 
on  H.  as  presidential  possibility  (1875), 
424. 

Nicaragua  Canal  Company  (1879),  2,  219. 

Nicholls,  F.  T.,  rival  government  in  Louisi 
ana  (1877),  2,  35;  interest  in  outcome  of 
electoral  count,  35;  situation  on  arrival  of 
commission,  56-59,  62;  pledge,  60  n.;  and 
prosecution  of  Returning  Board,  143, 
144  n.  See  also  Louisiana. 

Nicholson,  W.  R.,  H.  on,  as  preacher,  1,  58. 

Nineteenth  Corps,  in  the  Valley  (1864),  1, 
230,  231;  Opequon,  239-241,  251;  Fisher's 
Hill,  249;  Cedar  Creek,  254,  255  n.,  256, 
260,  262. 

Ninth  Ohio.   See  McCook,  R.  L. 

Noble,  J.  W.,  at  H.'s  funeral,  2,  399. 

Nordhoff,  Charles,  on  Republican  platform 
(1876),  1,  445  n.;  on  Congressmen  and 
H.'s  letter  of  acceptance,  465  n.;  on  H. 
and  Stalwarts,  472  n. 

Norton,  C.  E.,  on  H.'s  Cabinet  appointments, 
2,  29  n. 

Norwich,  Conn.,  Birchard  family,  1,  13. 

Noyes,  E.  F.,  and  first-call  meeting  in  Cin 
cinnati,  1,  120;  campaign  for  Governor 
(1871),  355;  H.'s  reception  (1872),  363; 
defeated  for  reelection,  381;  as  leader  of 
Hayes  forces  in  convention  (1876),  to  H. 
on  this,  442,  442  n.,  444,  453  n.;  speech 
nominating  H.,  447;  and  chairmanship 
of  National  Committee,  471;  from  H. 
(1876)  on  sending  representative  to  Wash 
ington,  518;  H.  on  appointment  to  foreign 
mission,  2,  89  n. ;  charges  against,  as  visit 
ing  statesman,  150,  159. 


478 


INDEX 


Noyes,  G.  W.,  on  Russell  descendants,  1,  8  n. 
Noyes,  H.  S.,  from  H.  (1878)  on  nepotism, 

2>  75  n. 
Nu  Pi  Kappa,  sectional  society  at  Kenyon, 

1,  27. 

Oath,   H.  on  reconstruction  and  Iron-clad, 

1,  284,  285;  repeal  of  Federal  jurors'  test, 

2,  170,  203  n. 

Ogden,  H.'s  visit  (1880),  2,  293. 

O'Higgins,  Rev.  T.,  in  West  Virginia  (1861), 
1»  153. 

Ohio,  Morgan's  raid  (1863),  1,  210-212; 
election  (1863),  214;  campaign  of  1867, 
290-328;  negro  suffrage  defeated,  328, 
330;  H.  as  Governor  (1868-72),  recom 
mendations  and  measures,  328-333,  339- 
350;  repeal  of  black  code,  329;  attempted 
withdrawal  of  ratification  of  Fourteenth 
Amendment,  330,  331,  334;  "visible  ad 
mixture"  law,  331,  335,  339,  346;  campaign 
of  1869,  334-339;  H.  on  Democratic  legis 
lature  (1869),  334-336;  increase  in  local 
taxation  and  debt,  335,  336,  338  n. ;  H.  and 
historical  memorials,  349;  portraits  of  Gov 
ernors,  349  n.;  campaign  of  1871,  Demo 
cratic  "new  departure,"  354-361;  sena 
torial  contest  (1872),  362,  363;  ratines 
Fifteenth  Amendment,  346;  H.'s  toast  to 
Kentucky  and,  352,  353;  elections  (1873), 
381;  (1874),  381;  Allen's  administration, 
382;  H.'s  nomination  for  Governor  (1875), 
382-387;  sound  money  and  Catholic 
schools  issue,  Geghan  law,  387-392;  Demo 
cratic  nominations,  388;  public  interest 
in  contest,  392;  H.'s  speeches,  392-406; 
local  misgovernment,  404,  408,  409,  412; 
Republican  success,  406,  2,  371  n.;  H.'s 
third  inaugural,  measures  advocated,  408- 
410;  his  appointments,  410;  his  exercise  of 
pardoning  power,  411;  his  message  (1877), 
411-413;  strike  of  coal  miners  (1876),  439, 
440;  change  of  date  of  State  elections, 
484  n.;  day  at  Centennial,  485-488;  in 
campaign  of  1876,  481,  483-486,  488;  H. 
on  State  campaign  (1889),  2,  374,  375.  See 
also  Hayes,  R.  B.  (Political  life). 

Ohio  Archaeological  and  Historical  Society, 
and  Spiegel  Grove,  2,  335  n.,  446-450; 
H.'s  interest,  355  n. 

Ohio  College  Association,  H.'s  address  (1892), 
2,  395. 

Ohio  regiments.  See  5th,  6th,  9th,  10th,  12th, 
13th,  23d,  24th,  26th,  28th,  30th,  34th, 
36th,  79th,  89th.  _ 

Ohio  State  University,  H.  and  beginning,  1, 
339,  349;  H.  as  trustee,  2,  355;  H.  on  con 
dition  (1887),  355  n. 

Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  H.  as  trustee,  2, 
355. 

Old  Whitey,  H.'s  war  horse,  1,  273  n.,  2,  445. 

Opequon,  battle,  Sheridan's  plan,  1,  230; 
Federal  check,  239,  240;  Crook's  charge, 
240-245,  251;  Confederate  retreat,  2*5; 
unjust  newspaper  reports,  250  n. 

Ord,  E.  O.  C.,  on  conditions  in  Arkansas 
(1866),  1,  309;  military  governor,  310;  and 
Mexican  depredations  (1877),  2,  209. 

Ordinance  of  1787,  H.  on  essence,  2,  295. 

Oregon,  H.  on  disputed  election  (1876),  1, 
508,  509;  Cipher  Dispatches,  2,  161. 

Orr,  J.  L.,  on  Peace  Democrats  and  seces 
sion,  1,  300. 

Otis,  L.  B.,  on  Harrison,  2,  376. 

Pacific  Coast,  H.'s  visit  (1880),  2,  293-297; 
H.  on  future,  295. 


Packard,  S.  B.,  Grant's  attitude  (1877),  2, 
33  n. ;  rival  government  in  Louisiana,  35; 
as  burden  to  H.'s  administration,  38  n., 
47  n.;  Matthews'  letter,  reply,  41,  42;  and 
instructions  to  commission,  56;  situation 
on  arrival  of  commission,  56-59,  61;  fall, 
60;  address,  61 ;  charge  of  assurance  of  H.'s 
support,  145.  See  also  Louisiana. 

Paley,  William,  H.  on,  1,  68,  69. 

Panama  Canal,  French  plans,  American  in 
terest,  2,  218;  proposed  American  canal 
through  Nicaragua,  219;  French  disavowal 
of  control,  218;  and  Monroe  Doctrine, 
H.'s  messages,  218-222,  224;  proposed 
American  naval  stations  near,  219  n.\ 
American  advisory  committee,  H.  and 
Thompson's  membership,  223;  negotia 
tions  on  neutrality  (1880),  224. 

Paper  money,  Ohio  Democrats  on  payment  of 
bonds  in  (1889),  1, 338;  appreciation  under 
Grant,  370;  silver  certificates,  2,  121;  re 
tirement  of  greenbacks  repealed  (1878), 
129;  H.'s  efforts  for  retirement,  134,  136; 
Sherman's  opposition,  135.  See  also  In 
flation,  National  banks,  Resumption. 

Pardons,  H.'s  exercise  of  power  as  Governor, 
1,  411. 

Parisburg.  See  Pearisburg. 

Parke,  Baron,  Story  on,  1,  35. 

Parker,  Cortlandt,  visiting  statesman  to 
Louisiana,  report  to  H.,  1,  507. 

Parker,  Isaac,  Story  on,  1,  36. 

Patriotism,  Dana  on,  1,  36. 

Patton,  R.  M.,  on  Reconstruction  Acts,  1, 
313. 

Paxton's  Cavalry,  in  West  Virginia  (1862), 

1,  176. 

Payne,  H.  B.,  on  H.  as  presidential  possibil 
ity,  lt  405;  of  joint  committee  on  disputed 
election,  524  n. ;  of  Electoral  Commission, 
530  n.;  H.  on  election  to  Senate,  2,  384. 

Pea  Ridge,  H.  on  battle,  1,  165. 

Peabody,  G.  H.,  Peabody  Education  Fund, 

2,  351. 

Peabody  Education  Fund,  H.'s  dinner  for,  2, 
326;  H.'s  interest,  351. 

Peace  Democrats,  and  coercion  (1861),  1, 
296-300;  Southern  dependence  on,  to  pre 
vent  war,  300;  denunciation  of  war  meas 
ures  and  negro  uplift,  302-306,  325,  326; 
reconstruction  plan,  306,  307;  patriotic 
utterances  during  Mexican  War,  324; 
Civil  War  prolonged  through  attitude, 
326,  327. 

Pearisburg,  Va.,  Federal  raid  and  retreat 
(1862),  1,  172-175. 

Peirpoint.    See  Pierrepont. 

Pelton,  W.  T.,  Cipher  Dispatches,  2,  161- 
166,  167  n. 

Pendery,  J.  L.,  fugitive-slave  case,  1,  95. 

Pendleton,  G.  H.,  lawyer  in  Cincinnati,  1, 
57;  in  State  campaign  (1867),  290;  on  se 
cession  and  coercion  (1861),  296-298;  on 
crop  of  Butternuts  (1862),  302;  on  the  war 
and  emancipation  (1863),  303;  on  negro 
soldiers  and  suffrage,  316;  campaign  for 
Governor  (1809),  338;  and  payment  of 
bonds  in  greenbacks,  338;  on  inflation, 
394,  397,  402. 

Peninsular  campaign,  H.  on,  1,  178.  180,  181. 

Pennsylvania,  sound-money  campaign  (1875), 
1,  407. 

Pennsylvania  Buck  Tails,  at  Cloyd  Moun 
tain,  1,  219  n.,  222. 

Pensions,  H.'s  attitude,  2,  338;  Arrears  Bill, 
338  n.;  H.  and  Cleveland's  vetoes,  339, 
369,  373. 


INDEX 


479 


Perkins,  G.  C.,  we^mes  H.  (1880),  2,  205. 

Perry,  A.  F.,  and  civil  service  reform,  1,  371; 
to  H.  (1876)  on  prospects  of  disputed  elec 
tion,  502. 

Phelps,  Elizabeth  S.,  on  Mrs.  Hayes,  2,  316  n. 

Philadelphia,  Union  Convention  (1866)  and 
Iron-clad  Oath,  1,  285;  Ohio  Day  at  Cen 
tennial,  486-488;  permanent  exhibition, 
2,  241. 

Philadelphia  Press,  on  H.  at  Centennial, 
488. 

Philadelphia  Times,  on  life  in  White  House, 
2,  307  n.;  H.  on  attacks,  429  n. 

Phillips,  Wendell,  on  H.'s  Southern  policy, 
2,  65. 

Philomathesian,  sectional  society  at  Kenyon, 
1,27. 

Philosophy,  H.  on  Emerson's  news,  1,  62,  63, 
65,  66;  on  Aristotle's  Ethics,  6S;  on  Paley 
on  moral  sense,  68,  69;  on  Locke's  innate 
ideas,  69. 

Piatt,  Donn,  H.  on  his  jokes,  1,  139. 

Piedmont,  Va.,  battle  (1864),  1,  223. 

Pierce,  Franklin,  campaign  of  1852,  1,  102- 
104;  H.  on,  and  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill, 
105. 

Pierce,  H.  L.,  and  H.'s  letter  of  acceptance, 
1,  466  n. 

Pierpont,  James,  and  beginning  of  Yale,  1, 
7  n. 

Pierrepont,  Edwards,  campaign  correspond 
ence  with  H.  (1876),  1,  481;  on  H.'s  inau 
gural,  2,  15  n. 

Pierrepont,  F.  H.,  at  reunion  of  Army  of 
West  Virginia  (1892),  2,  393  n. 

Pierson,  Abraham,  removal  to  New  Jersey, 
1,  7  n. 

Pinchback,  P.  B.  S.,  seconds  Morton's  nomi 
nation  (1876),  1,  446. 

Pioneer  Steamship  Company  of  Great  Lakes, 
1,  17. 

Pittsburg  Christian  Advocate,  on  Mrs.  Hayes' 
Sunday  evening  gatherings,  2,  310  n. 

Platforms,  Republican  (1876),  1,  444,  445; 
Democratic,  467;  civil  service  reform  ig 
nored  (1880),  2,  104;  on  Chinese  immigra 
tion  (1876),  212;  Republican,  on  H.'s  ad 
ministration  (1880),  238. 

Platt,  Emily,  in  H.'s  Southern  trip,  2,  248  n. ; 
as  guest  at  White  House,  301,  312  n.; 
marriage  in  White  House,  321-323. 

Platt,  Frances  A.  (Hayes).    See  Hayes. 

Platt,  Laura.    See  Mitchell,  Laura  (Platt). 

Platt,  R.  H.,  at  H.'s  silver  wedding,  2,  318. 

Platt,  T.  C.,  post-election  emissary  to  H., 
1,  514  n.,  515;  and  H.'s  Cabinet,  24,  24  n., 
235  n.;  H.  on  Garfield  row,  362  n.;  sup 
ports  Elaine  (1892),  376. 

Platt,  W.  A.,  1,  15  n.,  84;  army  letter  from 
H.  (1861),  141. 

Pleading,  Story  and  Greenleaf  on  necessity, 

1,  32,  36;  Wirt  and  Webster  as  pleaders, 
45. 

Plummer,  J.  F.,  at  Southern  dinner  in  New 

York  (1889),  2,  387  n. 

Plymouth,  N.  H.,  H.'s  speech  (1877),  2,  243. 
Poetry,  H.  on  early  English,  1,  66. 
Poindexter, ,  and  H.'s  Southern  policy, 

2,  11  n. 

Point  Pleasant,  W.  Va.,  Jenkins'  raid,  1,  209. 

Poland,  L.  P.,  seconds  Bristow's  nomination 
(1876),  1,  446. 

Political  assessments.    See  Assessments. 

Politics,  II .  on  avoidance,  1,  26,  31 ;  Story  on 
lawyers  avoiding,  37;  H.  on  lack  of  inter 
est  (1852),  103;  on  origin  of  parties,  295; 
H.  and  minority  representation  on  State 


boards,  346;  ethical  improvement  (1876), 
438  n. ;  H.'s  order  against  participation  by 
Federal  officials,  and  assessments,  2,  77, 
79,  80,  85  n.,  86  n.,  89 n.,  90,  103,  379;  simi 
lar  order  under  W.  H.  Harrison,  79  n.  See 
also  Elections,  and  parties  by  name. 

Polls.    See  Voting. 

Pomeroy,  T.  M.,  in  Republican  Convention 
(1876),  speech,  1,  444. 

Ponca  Indians,  episode,  2,  230-233. 

Poor  whites,  effect  of  slavery,  1,  161. 

Poore,  B.  P.,  "life-saving  station"  story,  2, 
312  n. 

Pope,  John,  New  Madrid,  1,  179;  Eastern 
command,  180;  H.  on,  181;  Bull  Run, 
189-193;  unpopular,  192;  military  gover 
nor,  310;  to  H.  (1872)  on  H.  and  politics, 
366;  H.'s  friendship,  2,  421. 

Port  Royal,  H.  on  capture,  1,  154. 

Porter,  A.  G.,  H.  on  appointment,  2,  89  n. 

Porter,  Fitz-John,  H.  on  trial,  1,  204. 

Porter,  J.  D.,  welcomes  H.  (1877),  2,  250. 

Porter,  Noah,  on  H.,  2,  286;  and  H.'s  offer 
of  position,  287. 

Porter,  P.  B.,  Pioneer  Steamship  Company, 

1,  17. 

Portland,  Oregon,  H.'s  visit  (1880),  2,  293. 

Postoffice,  monopoly,  1,  43. 

Potter,  C.  N.,  fraud  issue  investigation,  2, 
150,  151,  153,  156',  157  n. 

Potter  Committee.  See  Election  of  1876 
(Dispute) . 

Powell,  W.  H.,  Cedar  Creek,  1,  254;  at  re 
union  of  Army  of  West  Virginia  (1892),  2» 
393  n. 

Precedent,  Sto  y  on  legal,  1,  43. 

Prescott,  B.  F.,  elected  as  Governor,  2,  89  n. 

Presidency,  opposition  to  third  term,  1,  383, 
387;  H.  on  single  term,  460  n.,  461,  463, 

2,  9,  13,  237  n,,  378,  379;  H.'s  response  to 
toast  (1889),  386  n.,  387  n.    See  also  Elec 
tions,  and  Presidents  by  name. 

President  of  the  Senate,  right  to  count  elec 
toral  votes,  1,  510,  513. 

Presidential  elections.    See  Elections. 

Prices  in  South  (1862),  1,  158. 

Prince,  L.  B.,  contest  over  appointment  as 
Naval  Officer,  2,  86-88. 

Princeton,  W.  Va.,  Federal  troops  at  (1862), 
1,  170,  171. 

Prison  Association.    See  National. 

Public  debt,  H.  on  increase  of  local,  in  Ohio, 
1,  336,  338  n.,  339,  409,  412;  Ohio  Demo 
crats  on  payment  of  Federal  (1869),  338; 
H.'s  abhorrence,  345;  local,  as  issue  in  Ohio 
(1875),  387;  H.  on  avoidance  (1879),  278- 
281;  policy  of  Federal  Government,  280. 
See  also  Bonds,  Paper  money. 

Public  opinion,  H.  on  force  and  growth  of 
unity,  2,  282,  284. 

Public  service,  H.'s  aphorism,  2,  9,  13.  See 
also  Civil  service. 

Public  speaking,  H.  on  prominent  political 
speakers  (1843^4),  1,  34,  35,  44;  on  mas 
tering,  38,  44;  on  his  own,  59,  101. 

Pugh,  G.  E.,  lawyer  in  Cincinnati,  1,  57; 
case  with  H.,  92,  93;  fugitive- slave  case, 
94;  apothegm,  425  n. 

Punishment,  H.  and  reform  in  Ohio,  1,  339, 
348.  See  also  National  Prison  Associa 
tion,  Pardons. 

Purcell,  J.  B.,  H.  on  patriotism,  2,  337  n. 

Quay,  M.  S.,  supports  Blaine  (1892),  2,  376. 

'Rag-baby,"  name  for  inflation  issue,  1* 
389.  See  also  Inflation. 


480 


INDEX 


Railways,  case  on  bridge  over  navigable 
waters,  1,  93;  Federal  movements  and 
plans  against  East  Tennessee  and  Virginia 
Railroad  (1862),  173,  180;  Federal  raids 
on  it  (1863),  211,  214;  (1864),  217-222; 
method  of  military  destruction,  222  n.; 
H.  on  need  of  State  regulation  (1872), 
343;  riots  (1877),  2,  113. 

Raleigh,  W.  Va.  See  Beckley. 

Ramseur,  S.  D.,  Opequon,  1,  239. 

Ramsey,  Alexander,  Secretary  of  War,  2, 
32  n.;  in  Pacific  Coast  tour,  293. 

Randall,  S.  J.,  and  committee  on  disputed 
election,  1,  518  n. ;  and  attempted  filibus 
ter,  532;  Speaker  (1877),  2,  82;  (1879), 
177;  ruling  on  fraud-issue  investigation 
(1878),  151;  appointment  of  P9tter  Com 
mittee,  157  n.;  and  Democratic  coercive 
programme  (1879),  179  n. 

Randsell,  H.  J.,  H.  on  attacks,  2,  429  n. 

Ransom,  M.  W.,  of  joint  committee  on  dis 
puted  election,  1,  524  n. 

Ratification,  Story  on  debates  of  conven 
tions,  1,  42;  attempt  by  Ohio  to  withdraw, 
of  Fourteenth  Amendment,  330,  331,  334. 

Raymond,  H.  J.,  and  Iron-clad  Oath,  1,  284. 

Read,  J.  M.',  H.  on  appointment  to  foreign 
mission,  2,  89  n. 

Real  property,  H.  on  difficulties  of  law,  1, 
40,  41. 

Ream,  Laura,  on  H.'s  memory  for  faces,  2, 
416  n. 

Reasoner,  Jacob,  at  Opequon,  1,  243  n. 

Reconstruction,  Johnson's  actions,  1,  276, 
307;  task  of  39th  Congress,  277;  Republi 
can  caucus  on  representation  based  on  suf 
frage,  and  on  joint  committee,  278,  279; 
H.  on  Johnson  and  Congress,  279,  280, 
284,  285;  H.'s  attitude  as  Congressman 
(1866),  280,  288;  Fourteenth  Amendment 
as  prerequisite,  281  n. ;  H.'scampaignspeech 
(1866),  283-288;  result^  of  presidential 
policy,  283;  Southern  attitude  and  neces 
sity  of  Iron-clad  Oath,  283-285;  "Rebel 
plan,"  286,  306,  307,  319;  fundamentals 
of  congressional  plan,  Fourteenth  Amend 
ment,  287,  308;  as  issue  in  Ohio  election 
(1867),  293,  320,  321;  H.  on  conditions  in 
South  after  rejectionof  Fourteenth  Amend 
ment,  308;  on  Reconstruction  Acts,  310; 
311;  on  their  success  and  Southern  acqui 
escence,  311-315,  319;  on  justice  of  negro 
suffrage  (1867),  315-318;  on  necessity  of, 
by  loyal  men  only,  321-324;  Fifteenth 
Amendment,  334,  335,  346,  353,  354,  369; 
of  Virginia,  Mississippi,  Texas,  336,  337; 
H.  on  sincerity  of  "new  departure"  of 
Ohio  Democrats  (1871),  355-361;  attitude 
of  Kentucky  and  Indiana  Democrats, 
357-359;  H.  on  need  of  repose,  357;  on 
peaceful  results  (1872),  369;  as  source  of 
irritation  (1876),  416;  demand  for  cessa 
tion  of  Federal  interference,  416;  Wheeler 
Compromise  in  Louisiana  (1875),  452  n. ; 
H.'s  letter  of  acceptance  on  his  attitude, 
461,  462,  464;  Democratic  platform  on 
(1876),  467  n.;  conditions  and  Southern 
ascendency  in  Federal  politics  as  issue  in 
1876,  478,  481  n.,  484,  490;  H.  on  possible 
Southern  Republican  States,  485;  H.  and 
Taft  on  intimidation  of  negro  vote,  486, 
488;  expected  effect  of  Democratic  success, 
493,  494  n.,  496;  Southern  interviews  with 
H.  during  disputed  election,  504,  505; 
attitude  of  Southern  Congressmen  during 
dispute  and  H.'s  attitude,  517  n.,  518  n., 
520,  520  n.,  532,  534  n.,  2,  11  n.,  12  n.; 


Matthews-Gordon  conference,  question 
of  bargain,  1,  533,  534,  2,  36  n.,  66,  67; 
H.'s  inaugural  on  policy,  race  protection 
and  local  self-government,  7,  8,  11-13; 
remedy  in  education,  8;  Republican  at 
tacks  on  policy,  16,  82,  83  n.,  145;  South 
erners  and  H.'s  Cabinet,  18,  20,  26,  29; 
Grant  and  policy  of  military  protection 
(1877),  33,  35;  method  of  establishment  of 
white  control,  34;  end  of  carpetbag  gov 
ernment  in  Florida,  34;  rival  governments 
in  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina  (1877), 
35;  political  effect,  Northern  opinion,  36- 
38;  inconsistency  of  H.'s  action  considered, 
constitutionality  of  military  protection, 
38-40;  difficulty  of  problem,  40;  purposes 
of  H.'s  policy,  local  self-government  and 
protection  of  negro  rights,  41,  44,  45,  48  n., 
64,  64  n.,  66,  174-176,  252;  Matthews' 
letters  to  Packard  and  Chamberlain, 
replies,  41-44;  possible  plans  for  Louisi 
ana  and  South  Carolina,  45;  commission 
to  Louisiana,  instructions,  45,  47^-49,  54- 
56;  H.'s  study  of  problem,  46;  Eliot's  let 
ter  on  Louisiana  conditions,  46  n.-49  n.; 
conference  of  Chamberlain  and  Hampton 
with  H.,  49-51;  withdrawal  of  troops  from 
South  Carolina  State  House,  reception  of 
news,  51,  52;  Chamberlain's  defense,  52; 
fall  of  his  government,  53  ;  his  later  review 
of  affairs,  53  n.;  New  Orleans  petition  to 
H.,  56;  situation  there  on  arrival  of  com 
mission,  57-59,  61,  62;  legal  legislature 
organized,  59,  61,  63;  troops  withdrawn, 
fall  of  Packard's  government,  60,  63; 
pledges  of  Democratic  government,  60  n.; 
Packard's  address,  61;  report  of  commis 
sion,  61-64;  legal  basis  of  Democratic 
claim  to  Louisiana,  62;  public  opinion  of 
H.'s  action,  historical  verdict,  64-68; 
programme  of  repeal,  through  riders,  of 
Federal  control  of  elections,  170-173,  178; 
H.'s  attitude  towards  Federal  election  laws, 
173-177;  his  determination  to  resist  co 
erced  repeal,  179-185;  vetoes,  185-204, 
205  n.;  H.  on  reconstruction  measures  as 
spoils  of  victory,  195  n.;  repeal  of  jurors' 
test  oath,  203  n.;  failure  of  programme, 
204;  H.'s  pleas  for  reconciliation  (1877- 
79),  243-245,  246  n.,  248  n.,  249-253, 
282,  284,  340;  continued  suppression  of 
negro  suffrage,  H.  on  this,  266,  274-276, 
293  n.;  H.  on  leading  ideas  (1879),  281; 
on  results  of  his  policy  (1891),  353  n.,  354, 
430;  on,  as  settled  question  (1881),  366;  on 
negro  suffrage  as  a  permanency  (1889), 
389  n.;  H.'s  services  to  South,  407. 

Reed,  Henry,  at  H.'s  reunion  of  Literary 
Club,  2,  323. 

Reed,  T.  B.,  of  Potter  Committee  (1878),  2, 
157,  165. 

Reese,  Jesse,  captured  as  spy,  1»  166. 

Reform,  H.  and  girls'  school  in  Ohio,  1,  348. 

Reformation,  H.  on  question  of  Divine  in 
terference,  1»  70  n. 

Refunding.    See  Bonds. 

Regicides  in  C9nnecticut,  1,  7. 

Religion,  a  "stir,"  1,  11;  Reformation  as  Di 
vine  interference,  70  n.  ;  H.  on  true  Chris 
tianity,  79;  H.'s  belief,  2,  435^37. 

Remley,  J.  A.,  in  West  Virginia  (1861),  1, 
134. 

Removal,  Federal  executive  power,  1,  43. 
See  also  Civil  service. 

Reno,  J.  L.,  H.  incident  in  Antietam  cam 
aign,  1,  194,  194  n.-196  n.;  killed  at  South 
ountain,  201. 


pai 
M 


INDEX 


481 


Representation,  Republican  caucus  on  suf 
frage  as  basis  (1865),  1,  277-279. 

Republican  party,  H.'s  early  activity,  1, 
106  n. ;  causes  of  development,  113;  and 
slavery,  113;  overthrow  of  unit  rule  in  con 
ventions,  449,  2,  237,  240  n.;  H.  and  re 
habilitation,  109,  128  n.,  226,  227,  267,  297, 
298.  See  also  Congress,  Elections. 

Resumption  of  specie  payments,  attitude  of 
Ohio  Democrats  (1871),  1,  356;  act  (1875), 
417;  H.  on,  as  issue  in  1876,  427,  428, 
429  n.;  Garfield  on  question  of  modify 
ing  act  (1876),  428  n.;  Republican  plat 
form  on  (1876),  444;  H.'s  letter  of  accept 
ance  on,  461,  464;  Democratic  platform 
on,  417;  Tilden's  letter  of  acceptance  on, 
468;  H.'s  inaugural  on,  2,  9,  14;  H.  on 
patronage  and  prevention  of  repeal  of 
act,  110  n.;  H.'s  attitude  as  President, 
Sherman's  preparations,  113,  128,  131; 
attempt  to  repeal  act,  113,  115,  129;  H.'s 
message  on  necessity,  115;  H.  on  attempt 
to  repeal,  131;  accomplished,  effect,  131, 
133;  H.'s  credit  for,  132;  H.  on  danger  of 
disturbing,  262,  263;  and  election  of  1878, 
267;  H.  on  results,  277.  See  also  Inflation, 
Paper  money. 

Reynolds,  E.  L.,  killed  at  South  Mountain, 
1,  200  n. 

Reynolds,  J.  F.,  in  West  Virginia  campaign 
(1861),  H.  on,  1,  132,  133,  135,  136. 

Reynolds,  R.  M.,  H.  on  bureau  appoint 
ment,  2,  89  n. 

Reynolds,  W.  C.,  tribute  to  H.,  2,  408. 

Rhode  Island,  election  (1877),  2,  90. 

Rice,  A.  H.,  considered  for  Cabinet,  2,  17. 

Richmond,  W.  C.,  adventures  as  Union  man, 
1,  166. 

Richmond,  Va.,  H.  on  capture,  1,  270,  271; 
H.'s  visit  (1877),  2,  254  n. 

Richmond  Examiner,  on  Reconstruction  Acts, 
1,  311. 

Ricketts,  J.  B.t  Opequon,  1,  240;  Fisher's 
Hill,  248,  249. 

Riders,  attempted  use  to  repeal  Federal 
election  regulations  (45th  Congress),  2, 
170,  172;  renewal  of  programme  (46th 
Congress),  177-179;  H.'s  determination 
to  resist,  179-185;  practice,  180,  184,  190; 
vetoes  of  these  bills,  185-194,  197-203, 
205  n.;  failure  of  programme,  204. 

Riggs,  G.  W.,  Peabody  Education  Fund,  2, 
351. 

Ripley,  Ohio,  H.'s  speech  (1885),  2,  350  n. 

Ritter,  M.  V.,  in  West  Virginia  (1862),  1, 
170  n. ;  wounded  at  South  Mountain,  200. 

Road, ,  lawyer  in  Cincinnati,  1,  58. 

Roberts,  W.  H.,  of  New  Orleans  Times,  inter 
view  with  H.  (1876),  1,  504,  505. 

Robeson,  G.  M.,  at  dinner  with  H.,  2,  327  n. 

Robinson,  J.  C.,  and  23d  Ohio,  1,  125. 

Robinson,  Lucius,  defeat  for  reelection 
(1879),  2,  206  n. 

Robinson,  Stuart,  welcomes  H.  (1877),  2, 
249. 

Rodes,  R.  E.,  Opequon,  1,  239. 

Rogers,  W.  K.,  H.'s  law  partner,  1,  94;  in 
H.'s  visit  to  Montpelier,  2,  264  n.;  as  H.'s 
private  secretary,  301,  302;  H.  on,  302  n.; 
H.'s  friendship,  321  n.;  at  reunion  of  Lit 
erary  Club,  323. 

Roman  Catholic  Church,  interference  in 
public  schools  as  issue  in  Ohio  (1875),  1, 
387-391;  Geghan  Law,  388,  399,  400;  H.'s 
speech  on  issue,  397-401;  effect  of  paro 
chial  schools,  398;  repeal  of  Geghan  Law, 
410;  Republican  platform  (1876)  and  H.'s 


letter  of  acceptance  on  school  question, 
445,  461;  H.'s  attitude  as  issue  in  1876, 
476-478,  485;  H.  on  virtues,  2,  337  n. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore  [1],  contest  over  ap 
pointment  as  Collector,  2,  86-88;  death, 
92  n. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore  [2],  and  H.,  2,  422. 

Root,  G.  F.,  on  Mrs.  Haves,  2,  317  n. 

Rosecrans,  W.  S.,  colonel,  23d  Ohio,  1,  124; 
assumes  command,  speech,  125;  brigadier- 
general,  126;  commands  in  West  Virginia, 
128;  advance  against  Floyd  and  Wise, 
Carnifex  Ferry,  129-138;  rumored  cap 
ture,  135;  later  movements  and  winter 
quarters,  138-142;  newspaper  complaints 
against,  143;  H.  on  superseding  Buell, 
204;  Chickamauga,  213;  declines  nomi 
nation  for  Governor  (1869),  338;  at  re 
union  of  23d  Ohio  (1877),  2,  247;  at  re 
union  of  Army  of  West  Virginia  (1892), 
2,  393  n. 

Rosetta  fugitive-slave  case,  1,  94,  95. 

Rosser,  T.  L., defeat  by  Custer,  1,  253;  Cedar 
Creek,  255. 

Rousseau,  L.  H.,  and  Iron-clad  Oath,  1,  284. 

Rudy,  Ella,  on  H.,  1,  201  n. 

Rudy,  Jacob,  H.'s  convalescence  at  house, 
1,  200,  201. 

Rusk,  J.  M.,  at  H.'s  funeral,  2,  399. 

Russell,  A.  P.,  from  H.  (1859)  on  Lincoln's 
speech,  1,  110. 

Russell,  Abigail  (Whiting),  1,  7. 

Russell,  D.  A.,  Opequon,  killed,  1,  240. 

Russell,  G.  P.,  Peabody  Education  Fund,  2, 
351. 

Russell,  John  [1],  immigrant,  career,  1,  6. 

Russell,  John  [2],  career,  1,  7. 

Russell,  John  [3,  g.s.],  career,  1,  5,  8. 

Russell,  Mrs.  John  (Smith),  1,  7. 

Russell,  Mary  (Talcott),  1,  7. 

Russell,  Rebecca  [Mrs.  Ezekiel  Hayes],  1, 
5,  8. 

Russell,  Rebecca  (Newbury),  1,  7. 

Russell,  Rebecca  (Whiting),  1,  7. 

Russell,  Samuel,  career,  1,  7;  and  beginning 
of  Yale,  7  n. 

Russell,  Sarah  (Trowbridge) ,  1,  5,  8. 

Sacramento,  H.'s  speech  (1880),  2,  295,  296. 
St.  Glair,  Arthur,  H.  and  purchase  of  papers, 

1,  349. 
St.  John,  W.  P.,  at  Southern  dinner  in  New 

York  (1889),  2,  387  n. 
St.  Joseph,  H.'s  speech  (1879),  2,  281. 
St.  Louis  Republican,  on  H.  and  South,  2, 

St.  Paul,  H.'s  speech  (1878),  2,  257-259. 

Salt  Lake  City,  H.'s  visit  (1880),  2,  293. 

Salt  works,  H.'s  raid,  1,  187. 

San  Antonio,  in  1849,  1,  53,  54. 

San  Francisco,  H.'s  visit  (1880),  2,  293;  H. 
on  future,  295. 

San  Francisco  News  Letter,  on  H.  s  visit,  2, 
294  n 

Sand,  George,  Emerson  on  writings,  1,  63. 

Sandemanians  in  Connecticut,  1,  9. 

Sandusky  Bay,  bridge  case,  1,  92. 

Santa  Fe,  H.'s  visit  (1880),  2,  293. 

Sargent,  A.  A.,  opposition  to  H.,  2,  89,  90. 

Saunders,  James,  and  Mrs.  Hayes,  1,  208  n. 

Scammon,  E.  P.,  colonel,  23d  Ohio,  H.  on,  1, 
127,  107  n.,  168;  in  West  Virginia  (1861), 
132, 134, 152, 153;  commands  brigade,  165; 
and  Pearisburg  raid  (1862),  172,  175,  176; 
operations  (1862),  186;  South  Mountain, 
198;  commands  division,  200;  message  to 
H.  after  South  Mountain,  201;  brigadier- 


482 


INDEX 


general,  202;  movement  against  Raleigh 
(1863),  210;  and  Morgan's  raid,  210;  cav 
alry  raid  to  Wytheville,  212;  movemem 
against  Lewisburg,  214;  captured,  215; 
at  reunion  of  23d  Ohio  (1877),  2,  247. 
Scenery,  H.  on  West  Virginia,  1, 130, 144, 162 
Schenck,  R.  C.,  brigade  in  West  Virginia 
(1861),  1,  139;  pursuit  of  Floyd,  153-156 
popularity,  192;  H.  on  superseding  Wool 
204;  H.  on,  as  Congressman  (1865),  277 
and  representation  based  on  suffrage,  277 
political  ethics,  438  n. 

Schofield,  J.  M.,  on  conditions  in  Virginia 
(1866),  1,  309;  military  governor,  310 
and  Loyal  Legion,  2,  344  n.;  at  Granc 
Army  Encampment  (1892),  393  n. 

Schurz,  Carl,  in  Ohio  sound-money  cam 
paign  (1875),  If  405;  and  conference  of 
Republican  reformers  (1876),  430;  from  H. 
(1876)  on  single  term,  460  n.,  H.'s  campaign 
correspondent,  470  n. ;  on  Chandler  as  cam 
paign  manager,  471  n.;  from  H.  on  tax  re 
turns,  civil  service  reform,  475  n.;  from 
H.  on  taking  a  hopeful  tone,  479  n.;  with 
H.  on  campaign  assessments,  482  n.;  in 
the  campaign,  479;  from  H.  on  visiting 
statesmen,  498  n.;  from  H.  on  justice  of 
Louisiana  results,  508  n. ;  with  H.  on  Elec 
toral  Commission  Bill,  523,  525  n.;  con 
sulted  on  H.'s  Cabinet,  2,  17;  offer  9f  Cabi 
net  position,  reply,  19,  20,  opposition  to 
confirmation,  24-29,  82,  362  n. ;  character 
as  member  of  Cabinet,  30;  on  basis  of 
spoils-system  appointments,  70  n.;  civil 
service  reform  bill  (1869),  71  n. ;  reforms 
in  department,  76;  and  Bland  Silver  Bill, 
123;  opinion  of  Anderson's  testimony, 
159  n.;  and  veto  of  Army  Appropriation 
Bill  (1879) ,  186  n. ;  and  French  Panama  Ca 
nal,  221  n.;  Indian  policy,  229;  and  Ponca 
Indian  episode,  230-233;  in  H.'s  South 
ern  trip,  248  n;  in  visit  to  Montpelier, 
264  n. ;  humor,  303  n. ;  social  relations  with 
Pres.  H.,  310  n.;  and  Arrears  of  Pensions 
Bill,  338  n.;  and  Cleveland  and  civil  serv 
ice  reform,  368;  tribute  to  H.,  403;  H.'s 
friendship,  422. 

Scofield,  G.  W.,  H.  on  bureau  appointment, 
2,  89  n. 

Scotland,  battle  of  Loncart,  1,  1,  2. 

Scott,  Matthew,  Revolutionary  soldier,  1, 
78  n. 

Scott,  T.  A.,  and  disputed  election,  1,  520. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  H.'s  reading,  1,  67,  70. 

Scott,  Will,  at  H.'s  wedding,  1,  81. 

Scott,  Winfield,  H.  on  appearance  and  visit 
to  Ohio  (1851),  If  101  n.,  102  n.;  on  law, 
101  n.;  H.  on  defeat  (1852)  and  character, 
103,  104,  on  belligerent  non-combatants, 
2,  251  n. 

Sears,  Barnas,  Peabody  Education  Fund, 
2,  351. 

Seattle,  H.'s  visit  (1880),  2,  293. 

Secession,  slavery  as  cause,  1,  112-114;  H. 
on  pre-election  threats,  116;  Northern  dis 
may,  116;  Cincinnati  peace  meeting,  116; 
H.'s  attitude,  117;  H.  on  Lincoln's  prob 
able  policy,  118;  doctrines  relied  on,  295. 

Second  Virginia  (Federal),  in  West  Virginia 
operations  (1862),  1,  171,  173. 

Secret  societies,  H.  on,  2,  337  n. 

Seeson, ,  and  Morgan's  raid,  2,  212  n. 

Seigniorage,  in  Bland  Silver  Bill,  influence 
on  Sherman,  2f  121  n. 

Self-control,  H.  on  culture,  2,  395  n. 

Self-esteem,  H.  on,  1,  19,  20. 

Senate,   suggestion  of  unequal  representa- 


tion  (1899),  2,  388  n.;  H.  on  this,  389  n. 
See  also  Congress. 
Senatorial  courtesy,  and  civil  service  reform, 

2,  70,  86,  87,  90. 
Settle,  Thomas,  considered  for  H.'s  Cabinet, 

2,  17. 

Seven  Days,  H.  on,  1,  181. 
Seventh  Virginia  Cavalry  (Federal) ,  in  opera 
tions  of  1864,  2,  217. 
Seventy-ninth  Ohio,   H.   and   colonelcy,  If 

184,  187,  188,  192,  201,  202. 
Seymour,  Horatio,  H.  on  policy  (1862),  1, 

204;  H.  on  nomination  (1868),  331. 
Shafter,  W.  R.,  and  Mexican  depredations 

(1877),  2,  209. 

Shaw,  A.  D.,  post-election  visit  to  H.  in  be 
half  of  Conkling,  1,  514-516. 
Sheliabarger,  Samuel,  H.  on  (1865),  1,  277; 
and  representation  based  on  suffrage,  278; 
from  H.  (1876)  on  legal  contest  over  dis 
puted  election,  513  n.;  to  H.  (1877)  on 
electoral  count,  532  n. 

Shenandoah  Valley,  Sigel's  defeat  (1864),  1, 
222;  Hunter's  advance  and  retreat,  222- 
226;  Early's  Washington  raid,  227;  Sheri 
dan's  command,  227,  231;  Federal  con 
fusion  under  Wright,  228,  231;  Kernstown, 
229;  Sheridan's  cautious  policy,  political 
phase  of  campaign,  232,  233,  236;  Federal 
advance,  235;  Berryville,  236;  Opequon, 
238-246,  251;  Fisher's  Hill,  247-251;  de 
struction,  252;  Custer's  defeat  of  Rosser, 
253;  Confederate  advance,  253;  Cedar 
Creek,  253-262. 

Shepard,  E.  F.,  dinner  during  Centennial  of 
Washington's    Inauguration,  2f  387    n.- 
389  n. 
Sheppard,   E.   T.   on   Black   and   disputed 

election,  1,  531  n. 
Sheridan,  G.  A.,  in  campaign  of  1876,  If  479; 

to  H.  on  Louisiana  contest,  504. 
Sheridan,  P.  H.,  Valley  command,  forces,  1» 
227;  cautious  policy,  232,  233,  236;  ad 
vance,  235;  Opequon,  238-246,  251; 
Fisher's  Hill,  247-251;  and  Crook,  251; 
destructions,  252;  return  to  Fisher's  Hill, 
253  ;J  departure  for  Washington,  254 ;  his 
"terrible  oath"  at  Cedar  Creek,  257  n.; 
ride  to  Cedar  Creek,  258-260;  victory  there, 
260-262;  first  vote,  263,  264;  and  news 
paper  injustice  to  Crook's  corps,  264;  and 
promotion  of  H.  265;  in  final  campaign, 
270;  on  conditions  in  South  (1866),  309: 
military  governor,  310;  Grant  on  proposed 
removal  as  governor  (1867),  321;  endorses 
H.'s  presidential  candidacy,  426;  at  re 
union  of  23d  Ohio  (1877),  2,  247;  H.'s 
friendship,  421. 

Sherman,  John,  contest  for  reelection  (1872), 
H.'s  attitude,i2, 362, 363 ;  in  Ohio  campaign 
(1875),  392;  pioneers  for  H.'s  presidential 
nomination,  421,  426;  from  H.  (1876)  on 
sound-money  issue,  429  n.;  with  H.  on  can 
didacy  for  nomination,  433;  on  wisdom  of 
nomination  of  H.,  454  n.;  H.'s  campaign 
correspondent,  470  n.;  on  H.  and  count  in 
Louisiana,  495  n. ;  reports  to  H.  on  contest 
there,  502,  503,  507;  with  H.  on  visit  of 
Conkling  emissary,  514  n. ;  from  H.  on  pre 
senting  H.'s  views  during  contest  in  Con 
gress,  514  n.,  519  n.;  with  H.  on  Electoral 
Commission  Bill,  521  n.,  522, 524  n.,  526  n. ; 
conferences  with  Southerners  on  H.'s 
policy,  534;  letters  with  H.  on  Southern 
policy,  534  n.,  2,  36  n.;  and  time  of  H.'s 
arrival  at  Washington,  3;  H.'s  host  there, 
5;  consulted  on  H.'s  Cabinet,  17;  consid- 


INDEX 


483 


ered  for  Cabinet,  17;  offer  of  Treasury 
portfolio,  18;  to  H.  (1877)  on  J.  E.  John 
ston  and  Cabinet,  20  n.;  nomination  for 
Cabinet  confirmed,  26,  27;  character  as 
member  of  Cabinet,  30;  on  Grant's  atti 
tude  towards  Louisiana  government  (1877), 
33  n.;  and  reform  in  New  York  Custom 
House,  77,  91,  91  n.;  and  resumption,  112, 
128,  129,  132;  and  Bland  Silver  Bill,  121, 
123;  opposes  retirement  of  greenbacks, 
130,  135;  on  Refunding  Bill  (1881),  138; 
charge  of  bargain  with  Louisiana  Return 
ing  Board,  145,  146,  150,  157;  opinion  of 
Anderson's  testimony,  159  n.;  on  report  of 
Potter  Committee,  167  n.;  and  veto  of 
Army  Appropriation  Bill,  186  n.;  candi 
dacy  for  presidential  nomination  (1880), 
233  n.;  character  as  candidate,  234,  237; 
Grant  on  (1879),  236  n.;  H.  on,  as  Secre 
tary  of  Treasury,  262;  humor,  303  n., 
social  relations  with  Pres.  H.,  308;  H.  on 
candidacy  (1884),  366,  367;  (1888),  369- 
371;  from  H.  (1888)  on  defeat  for  nomi 
nation,  372;  H.'s  friendship,  422. 

Sherman,  W.  T.,  reported  pro-slavery  sym 
pathy,  1,  179;  H.  on  army  (1864),  237;  H. 
on  march  to  the  sea,  264,  265;  on  negro 
suffrage,  316;  endorses  H.'s  presidential 
candidacy,  427;  and  death  of  son  during 
war,  459;  and  Cabinet  position  for  J.  E. 
Johnston,  2, 20;  in  H.'s  Western  trip  (1879), 
281  n.;  in  Pacific  Coast  tour  (1880),  293; 
social  relations  with  Pres.  H.,  306,  310  n.; 
and  Loyal  Legion,  344  n.;  H.  at  funeral, 
360;  H.  on,  as  presidential  possibility, 
367;  H.'s  friendship,  421. 

Sickles,  D.  E.,  on  conditions  in  South  Caro 
lina  (1866),  1,  309;  military  governor,  310. 

Sidney,  Ohio,  H.'s  speech  (1867),  1,  321-327. 

Sigel,  Franz,  popularity, -1,  192;  as  general, 
193;  command  (1864),  217;  defeat,  222; 
retreat  before  Early,  227. 

Silver,  demand  for  free  coinage,  2,113-115, 

119,  130;  Illinois  bill  for  legal  tender,  114; 
Bland  Bill,   115,   120;   H.'s  messages  on 
true  principles  of  bimetallism,  116,  118; 
on  free  coinage  as  violating  public  faith, 
117-119;  H.'s    comments  on  Bland  Bill, 

120,  122;   international   conference,  121, 
127   n.;   Sherman   and   Bland   Bill,    121; 
efforts   to   prevent  veto,  122  n.,  123   n.; 
Cabinet  on  bill,  123,  124;  veto  of  bill  as 
violating  public  faith,    124-126;   passage 
over  veto,  126;  justice  of  veto,  127;   bill 
in  operation,  effect,  127;  concurrent  reso 
lution  to  pay  bonds  in,  128;  H.  on  failure 
to  circulate,  134,  136;  H.'s  efforts    for  re 
peal  of  Bland  Act,  134, 137.   See  also  Infla 
tion. 

Silver  wedding  in  White  House,  2,  318-321. 

Simpson,  J.  H.,  and  23d  Ohio,  1,  125. 

Simsbury,  Conn.,  Hayes  family,  1,  4. 

Sinking  fund,  H.  on  continuance,  2,  135. 

Sixth  Corps,  in  the  Valley  (1864),  1,  230, 
231;  Opequon,  239-241,  246,  251;  Cedar 
Creek,  253,  255  n.,  262. 

Sixth  Ohio.    See  Guthrie  Grays. 

Skiles,  J.  W.,  in  West  Virginia  (1861),  t,  140; 
wounded  at  South  Mountain,  200. 

Slater,  J.  F.,  Slater  Fund,  2,  352. 

Slater,  W.  A.,  Slater  Fund,  2,  352. 

Slater  Fund,  H.'s  interest,  2,  352. 

Slavery,  H.'s  neutral  position  at  college,  1, 
26,  27;  sectional  skirmish  at  Harvard 
(1844),  41;  influence  of  business  on  discus 
sion,  56;  H.  on  fundamental  basis  of  South 
ern  politics  (1854),  105;  on  results  of  cam 


paign  of  1856,  106,  107,  114;  as  cause  of 
disunion,  112-114,  179,300;  H.  on  solution 
(1862),  157;  effect  on  poor  whites,  161; 
H.  on  dissolution,  181;  growth  of  political 
power  and  opposition,  295,  296;  H.  on  re 
sponsibility  for,  2,  350  n.  See  also  Aboli 
tionists,  Contrabands,  Emancipation,  Fugi 
tive-slave,  Negroes. 

Smalley,  E.  V.,  on  Grant's  candidacy  for 
1880,  2,  235  n.;  on  reception  of  H.  in  New 
England  (1877),  243  n. 

Smith,  Abigail  (Chandler),  1,  10. 

Smith,  Allie,  as  guest  at  White  House,  2, 
312  n. 

Smith,  C.  B.,  lawyer  in  Cincinnati,  1»  57; 
candidacy  for  City  Solicitor,  108. 

Smith,  Chloe  [Mrs.  Rutherford  Hayes].  1,  5. 

Smith,  DeH.  K.,  wounded  at  South  Moun 
tain,  1,  200;  from  H.  (1876)  on  presiden 
tial  candidacy,  429. 

Smith,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  1,  11. 

Smith,  Mrs.  Henry  [Mrs.  John  Russell],  1,  7. 

Smith,  Israel,  career,  1,  9,  10. 

Smith,  John  [1],  of  Wethersfield,  1,  8. 

Smith,  John  [3],  character,  1,  11. 

Smith,  Richard,  on  H.'s  candidacy  for  Con 
gress  (1872),  1,  368;  from  H.  (1875)  on 
nomination  for  Governor,  384. 

Smith,  Samuel,  of  Wethersfield,  immigrant, 
career,  1,  8. 

Smith,  T.  C.  H.,  suggests  H.  for  President 
(1875),  1,  425;  and  J.  E.  Anderson,  159  n.; 
at  H.'s  reunion  of  Literary  Club,  323. 

Smith,  W.  H.,  and  biography  of  H.,  1,  vii, 
viii;  H.  to  (1864)  on  congressional  election, 
234;  (1867)  on  candidacy  for  Governor, 
291;  forecast  Republican  ticket  (1876), 
426;  on  Noyes  as  leader  of  H.  forces  in  con 
vention,  453  n.;  H.'s  campaign  correspond 
ent,  470  n.;  from  H.  on  American  Alli 
ance,  477;  on  prospects,  481;  on  assess 
ments,  483  n.;  on  withholding  commit 
ments,  520;  view  of  Davis  and  Electoral 
Commission,  537;  accompanies  H.  to  Wash 
ington  (1877),  2, 4;  consulted  on  H.'s  Cabi 
net,  17;  from  H.  (1888)  on  Conkling,  24  n.; 
(1877)  on  senatorial  dictation  of  appoint 
ments,  87  n. ;  (1879)  on  Democratic  coer 
cive  programme,  179  n.;  (1880)  on  nomi 
nation  of  Garfield,  240;  and  H.'s  offer  of 
private  secretaryship,  302;  from  H.  (1887) 
on  Ohio  State  University,  355  n.;  (1881) 
on  Arthur's  message,  366  n.;  opposition 
to  Elaine  (1888),  370  n.;  from  H.  (1892) 
on  election,  377  n.;  on  H.  and  annexation 
of  Canada,  377,  378;  at  H.'s  funeral,  400; 
H.'s  friendship,  421, 424;  H.  on  this  (1881), 
425. 

Sniff  en,  C.  C.,  letter  on  Grant's  Louisiana 
policy  (1877),  2,  33  n. 

Social  conditions.     See  Charity,   Economic 
conditions,  Education,  Government,  Lit 
erature,  Negroes,  Philosophy,  Punishment, 
Religion,  Social  life,  Travel. 
Social  life,  Cincinnati  (1850),  1,  36;  Emerson 
on  London,  61,  62.    See  also  White  House. 
Sondershoff,  Charles,  in  West  Virginia  (1861), 

1,  132. 
Sound  money.    See   Inflation,    Resumption, 

Silver. 

South,  H.  on  political  sentiment  (1854),  1, 
105;  H.'s  tour  (1877),  2,  248-253;  effect 
of  tour,  254;  H.  and  Federal  aid  of  educa 
tion,  288,  350, 365, 368 ;  immigration  avoids, 
289;  H.  on  gain  through  Civil  War,  342; 
H.  and  Peabody  and  Slater  funds,  350- 
354;  H.'s  trip  (1892),  acknowledgment  of 


484 


INDEX 


debt  to  him,  353  n.  See  also  Civil  War, 
Negroes,  Reconstruction,  Slavery,  State 
sovereignty. 

South  Carolina,  conditions  (1866),  1,  309; 
Federal  protection  in  election  of  1876, 
489  n.;  decision  of  Electoral  Commission 
on  vote,  530  n.;  rival  state  governments 
(1877),  2,  35;  State  affairs  and  disputed 
election,  35;  Northern  opinion,  36-38;  H.'s 
attitude  and  consistency,  38-40;  Mat 
thews'  letter  to  Chamberlain,  reply,  42- 
44;  conference  of  Hampton  and  Chamber 
lain  with  H.,  49-51  ;>removal  of  troops  from 
State  House,  51,  52;  fall  of  carpetbag 
government,  52,  53;  Chamberlain's  ad 
dress,  52;  his  later  review,  53  n.;  revela 
tion  of  Cipher  Dispatches,  163;  suppres 
sion  of  negro  suffrage  (1878),  175.  See  also 
Reconstruction. 

South  Mountain,  battle,  1,  198-200. 

Spalding,  R.  P.,  H.  on,  1,  277. 

Sparks,  Jared,  lecture  on  colonial  history,  1, 
33. 

Sparrow  and  Matthews,  law  firm  in  Cincin 
nati,  1,  28. 

Spencer,  G.  E.,  fears  for  patronage  under  H., 

1,  515. 

Spenser,  Edmund,  H.  on,  as  poet,  1,  66. 

Sperry,  C.  A.,  in  West  Virginia  (1861),  1, 
133,  137;  Pearisburg  raid  (1862),  174. 

Spiegel  Grove,  H.  occupies  and  improves 
(1873),  1,  376;  described,  2,  331-335,  441- 
446;  origin  of  name,  331  n. ;  State  property, 
335  n.,  446-450. 

Spofford,  A.  R.,  on  H.'s  interest  in  Library 
of  Congress  (1866),  1,  282  ».;  at  H.'s  re 
union  of  Literary  Club,  2,  323,  324;  H.'s 
friendship,  421. 

Springer,  W.  M.,  on  joint  committee  on  dis 
puted  election  1,  524  n. ;  and  Potter  Com 
mittee  (1878),  2,  156,  156  n.,  157  n.,  165. 

Springfield,  111.,  H.'s  visit  and  speech  (1879), 

2,  281,  282. 

Springfield  Republican,  on  H.  as  presidential 
possibility  (1875),  1,  424. 

Stairwalt,  Andrew,  H.  on,  in  West  Virginia 
(1862),  1,  186. 

Stallo,  J.  B.  and  first-call  meeting  at  Cin 
cinnati,  1,  120. 

Standard  Oil  Company,  H.  on,  2,  384. 

Stanton,  E.  M.,  H.  on  (1862),  1,  161;  and 
exchange  of  Crook,  268. 

State  sovereignty,  Story's  denial,  1,  41;  and 
disunion,  296;  and  attempted  repeal  of 
Federal  election  laws  (1879),  2,  181,  185; 
H.  on  war  settlement  of  doctrine,  270- 
274,  276,  281,  282,  292  n.,  296;  Lincoln  on 
sophism,  272,  273.  See  also  Secession, 
Union. 

Staunton,  Va.,  Hunter's  occupation  (1864), 

1,  223. 

Stearns,  B.  F.,  at  Opequon,  1,  243  n. 
Steedman,  J.  B.,  War  Democrat,  1,  301. 
Stenger,  W.  S.  of  Potter  Committee  (1878) , 

2,  157  n.,  165. 

Stephens,  A.  H.,  "corner-stone"  speech,  1, 
310;  and  H.'s  title  to  presidency,  539;  op 
poses  fraud  issue  (1878),  2,  153;  on  close 
of  H.'s  administration,  328  n. 

Stephenson,  R.  H.,  Cincinnati  volunteer 
home  company,  1,  121;  H.'s  friendship,  2, 
321  n. 

Stephenson,  Fort,  at  Fremont,  present  use 
of  site,  1,  77  n. 

Sterne,  Laurence,  H.  on  Tristram  Shandy,  1, 
71,  79. 

Stevens,  Thaddeus,  and  Republican  caucus 


on  reconstruction  (1865),  1,  27$;  H.  on 
(1865),  278  n. 

Stewart,  J.  A.,  Slater  Fund,  2,  352. 

Stickney,  William,  Ponca  Indian  Commis 
sion,  2,  231  n. 

Stillwell, ,  as  office-seeker,  2,  75  n. 

"Stir,"  as  name  for  revival,  1,  11. 

Stockton,  Thomas,  H.  on,  as  lecturer,  1. 
61. 

Stoddard,  W.  O.,  from  H.  (1899)  on  ex-Presi 
dents,  2,  336  n. 

Stone,  Rev.  M.,  to  H.  (1877)  on  negroes  and 
H.'s  policy,  2,  64  n. 

Storer,  Bellamy,  lawyer  in  Cincinnati,  1,  57; 
and  Scott's  visit  to  Ohio  (1851),  101  n.; 
and  first-call  meeting,  120. 

Storrs,  Experience,  company  at  Bunker  Hill, 
1»  13. 

Story,  Joseph,  Dana  on  Law  School  under, 
1,  31;  diary  of  H.  on  lectures:  on  requisites 
of  legal  character,  31 ;  manner  as  lecturer, 
32 ;  on  pleading  and  evidence,  32 ;  on  great 
ness  of  Marshall,  32;  on  legal  ethics,  32, 
33;  on  lawyer's  library,  33;  on  Jefferson  on 
Marshall,  33;  on  moral  eminence  of  law 
yers,  33;  on  betting,  34;  on  English  judges, 
35;  on  Judge  Parker,  36;  on  abolitionists 
and  Constitution,  36;  on  law  as  career, 
avoidance  of  politics,  37;  on  sophism  of 
State  sovereignty,  41;  on  Declaration  of 
Independence,  41;  on  weakness  of  Confed 
eration,  42;  on  ratification  debates,  42;  on 
greatness  of  Hamilton,  his  unanswerable 
bank  argument,  42;  on  precedent,  43;  on 
settled  constitutional  questions,  43;  con 
stitutional  theory,  43;  on  Gallatin  and 
Hamilton  as  financiers,  44;  on  Wirt  and 
Webster  as  pleaders,  45. 

Stoughton,  E.  W.,  visiting  statesman  to 
Louisiana,  report  to  H.,  1,  507;  H.  on  ap 
pointment  to  foreign  mission,  2,  89  n. 

Stout,  F.  A.,  visit  to  H.,  on  election  in  New 
Y9rk  (1876),  1,  506. 

Straight,  J.  A.,  and  J.  E.  Anderson,  2,  158. 

Street,  A.  R.,  Russell  ancestry,  1,  8  n. 

Strike,  H.  and,  of  coal  miners  (1876),  1,  439, 
440;  railroad  (1877),  2,  228. 

Strong,  Caleb,  on  hasty  legislation,  1,  43. 

Strong,  William,  of  Electoral  Commission, 
1,  530  n. 

Stuart,  A.  H.  H.,  on  illiteracy  in  South,  2, 
290;  Peabody  Education  Fund,  351. 

Stuart,  J.  E.  B.,  raid  in  Pennsylvania  (1862), 
1,  204. 

Suffrage,  Republican  caucus  on  basing  rep 
resentation  on  (1865),  1,  277-279;  attitude 
of  Congress  as  to  territorial  and  State 
(1866),  279;  ante-bellum  negro,  316;  H.  on 
justice  and  inevitableness  of  negro  (1866), 
316-318;  and  education  of  negroes,  318,  2, 
288-292,  293  n.,  349,  350;  negro,  defeated 
in  Ohio  (1867),  1,  328,  330;  Ohio's  "  visible 
admixture"  law,  331,  335,  339,  346;  for 
students  and  veterans  in  soldiers'  homes 
in  Ohio,  335,  339,  346;  H.  and  manhood, 
346;  advocacy  of  woman,  by  Republican 
reformers  (1876),  430;  H.  on  protection 
of  negro  (1878),  2,  174-176;  H.  and  sup 
pression  of  negro  (1878-80),  266,  268, 
274-276,  293  n.;  Lincoln's  principles,  273; 
H.  and  woman,  381;  H.  on  negro,  as  per 
manent  (1889),  389  n.  See  also  Federal 
election  laws,  Fifteenth  Amendment,  Vot 
ing. 

Summons,  James,  H.'s  defense,  1,  91,  92. 

Sumter,  Fort,  effect  of  fall  in  Cincinnati,  1» 
119;  H.  on  Anderson's  failure,  120. 


INDEX 


485 


Supreme  Court,  greatness  of  Marshall,  1, 

32;  Jefferson  on,  43;  Wirt  and  Webster  as 

pleaders,  45. 
Button,  W.  Va.,  Federal  troops  at  (1861),  1, 

134. 
Swann,   Thomas,   and   Maryland  memorial 

(1878),  2,  148. 

Swayne,  Wager,  at  H.'s  funeral,  2,  400. 
Swift,  J.  F.,  special  Chinese  mission,  2,  217. 

Taft,  Alphonso,  lawyer  in  Cincinnati,  1,  57; 
candidacy  for  nomination  for  Governor 
(1875),  from  H.  on  this,  1, 384-387 ;  on  key 
note  of  Ohio  campaign  (1875),  398;  on 
H.'s  presidential  candidacy,  433;  on  in 
timidation  of  negro  voters  in  South  (1876), 
488  n.;  from  H.  (1877)  on  Electoral,  Com 
mission,  528;  opposes  the  Commission, 
529  n.;  on  threats  against  Grant  (1876), 
2,  1;  H.'s  friendship,  421. 

Taft,  C.  P.,  and  nomination  of  H.  for  Gov 
ernor  (1875),  1,  385. 

Taft,  W.  H.,  and  H.,  2,  422;  Taft  Oak  in 
Spiegel  Grove,  446. 

Talcott,  Mary  [Mrs.  John  Russell],  1,  7. 

Tanner,  James,  H.  on  dismissal,  2,  374. 

Tariff,  H.  on  need  of  revision  downward 
(1872),  1,  371;  not  a  party  question,  372; 
Republican  platform  on  (1876),  445; 
Democratic  platform  on,  467  n.;  H.  on, 
on  coffee  and  tea,  2, 135;  H.  on  issue  (1888), 
370  n.;  (1890),  375,  (1892),  376. 

Taxation,  H.  on  principles  of  State,  1,  329; 
on  increase  of  local,  in  Ohio,  336,  338  n., 
339,  342,  408,  409,  412;  reduction  of  Fed 
eral,  under  Grant,  370;  local,  as  issue  in 
Ohio  (1875),  387.  See  also  Tariff. 

Tayleure,  C.  W.,  captured  by  Federals,  to 
H.  (1885)  on  experience,  1,  166. 

Taylor,  Bayard,  H.  on  appointment  to  for 
eign  mission,  2,  89  n. 

Taylor,  I.  H.,  from  H.  (1886)  on  Federal 
aid  for  education,  2,  349  n. 

Taylor,  Richard,  Peabody  Education  Fund, 
2,351. 

Taylor,  Zachary,  campaign  of  1848,  1,  100. 

Temperance,  H.  on  his  attitude  (1852),  1, 
60;  his  opposition  to  political  and  legisla 
tive  action,  100,  2,  379-381;  H.  becomes 
total  abstainer,  305;  regime  in  White 
House  under  H.,  312-315. 

Tenth  Ohio,  in  West  Virginia  campaign 
(1861),  1,  136-138. 

Tenure-of-Office  Act,  H.  on  repeal,  2,  106. 

Term  of  President.    See  Presidency. 

Territories,  Congress  and  suffrage  in  (1866), 
1,  279. 

Texas,  social  life  (1849),  1,  50,  51;  horseback 
trip  across,  51-54;  H.  on  reconstruction, 
337;  on  coin  basis  (1875),  396. 

Texas-Pacific  Railway,  and  disputed  elec 
tion,  1,  520. 

Thayer, ,  at  dinner  with  H.,  2,  327  n. 

Theatre,  H.  on  his  first,  1,  36. 

Third  term,  opposition,  1,  383,  387. 

Thirteenth  Obio,  in  West  Virginia  (1861), 
1,  138. 

Thirteenth  Virginia  (Federal),  in  West  Vir 
ginia  (1863),  1,  208;  and  Morgan's  raid, 
210,  211. 

Thirty-fourth  Ohio,  in  West  Virginia  (1862), 
1,  176;  (1863),  208;  (1864),  217. 

Thirty-sixth  Ohio,  in  West  Virginia  (1864), 
1,  217;  at  Opequon,  244;  H.  and,  271. 

Thirty-sixth  Virginia,  in  West  Virginia 
(1862),  1,  184. 


Thoburn,  Joseph,  Opequon,  1,  242;  Cedar 
Creek,  killed,  254,  255,  258,  260  n. 

Thomas,  Lieut.-Gov. ,  and  H.'s  visit  to 

Montpelier,  2,  264. 

Thomas,  G.  H.,  Mills  Springs,  1,  162;  on 
conditions  in  South  (1866),  309. 

Thompson,  Ambrose,  grant  in  Central  Am 
erica,  2,  219  n. 

Thompson,  R.W.,  speech  nominating  Mor 
ton  (1876),  1,  446;  appointment  to  H.'s 
Cabinet,  2,  23;  confirmed,  28;  character 
as  member  of  Cabinet,  31;  and  Bland 
Silver  Bill,  123;  opinion  of  Anderson's 
testimony,  159  n.;  and  veto  of  Army 
Appropriation  Bill,  186  n. ;  H.  and  accept 
ance  of  Panama  Canal  office,  forced  resig 
nation,  223;  humor,  303  n. 

Thompson,  William,  career,  1,  78  n. 

Thome,  E.  E.,  visit  to  H.  (1876),  on  elec 
tion  in  New  York,  1,  506. 

Thornton,  Sir  Edward,  anecdote  of  Mrs. 
Hayes,  2,  309  n.;  at  dinner  with  H.,  327  n. 

Thunderstorms,  phenomena,  1,  178,  186. 

Thurman,  A.  G.,  nominated  for  Governor 
(1867),  1,  291;  campaign,  293,  320;  on 
coercion  (1861),  298;  challenges  inspec 
tion  of  record,  323;  on  supporting  Mexican 
War,  324;  as  Peace  Democrat,  325-327; 
H.  as  his  opponent,  328;  defeated,  328; 
elected  to  Senate,  328  n.;  and  Fifteenth 
Amendment,  359;  reflected  to  Senate,  381; 
and  inflation  issue  in  Ohio  (1875),  391, 
395;  of  joint  committee  on  disputed  elec 
tion,  524  n. ;  of  Electoral  Commission, 
530  n.;  and  Democratic  programme  on 
Federal  election  laws  (1879),  2, 179,  203  n.; 
H.  on  candidacy  for  Vice-President  (1888), 
370. 

Tilden,  S.  J.,  and  Tweed,  1,  418;  nomina 
tion  certain  (1876),  418,  437  n.;  nomina 
tion,  466;  letter  of  acceptance,  467;  activity 
in  campaign,  469  n. ;  income-tax  dodging, 
474;  and  Allen's  candidacy  (1875),  481; 
conduct  during  disputed  election,  499  n.t 
519;  and  filibuster  over  electoral  count, 
532  n.;  and  Electoral  Commission,  539; 
dropped  in  1880,  539,  2,  168;  and  fraud 
issue,  142;  and  Cipher  Dispatches,  164, 
165  n.,  166;  and  New  York  election  (1879), 
206  n. 

Tindal,  N.  C.,  Story  on,  1,  35. 

Tod,  David,  H.  on  election  (1861),  1,  140, 
145;  War  Democrat,  301. 

Toledo,H.'sspeech(1868),l,  351;  H.'s  invest 
ments,  377;  H.'s  visit  (1878),  2,  263. 

Tompkins,  C.Q.,  H.  on  war  attitude  and  ac 
tion,  1,  143,  148,  149,  161. 

Toohy,  D.  J.,  and  H.,  1,  108. 

Torbert,  A.  T.  A.,  cavalry  command  in  the 
Valley  (1864),  2,  232;  Opequon,  240,  242; 
defeat  of  Rosser,  253;  Cedar  Creek,  254. 

Tqwnsend,  G.  A.,  interview  with  H.  on  fraud- 
issue  investigation,  2,  155  n. 

Transcendentalism,  H.  on  Emerson  and,  1* 
62,  63,  65,  66. 

Travel,  in  1834  from  Ohio  to  Vermont,  1,  16; 
life  on  Mississippi  steamer  (1848),  49. 

Trent  affair,  H.  on,  1,  156. 

Trescot,  W.  H.,  special  Chinese  mission,  2, 
217. 

Trotter,  Alexander,  on  financial  faith  of 
United  States,  2,  280. 

Trowbridge,  J.  T.,  on  Mrs.  Hayes,  2,  317  n. 

Trowbridge,  R.  E.,  H.  on.,  1,  25;  in  Congress, 
25  n. ;  and  sectional  societies  at  college,  27. 

Trowbridge,  Sarah  [Mrs.  John  Russell],  1,  5, 
8. 


486 


INDEX 


Trowbridge,  T.  R.,  H.  visits  (1880),  2, 
286. 

Troy,  W.  J.,  from  H.  (1876)  on  use  of  money 
in  campaign,  1,  479  n. 

Truelove  (1635),  1,  13. 

Trusts.    See  Monopolies. 

Tucson,  H.'s  visit  (1880),  2,  293. 

Turner,  B.  A.,  on  H.'s  staff,  1,  240  n. 

Turner,  H.  M.,  seconds  Elaine's  nomination 
(1876),  1,  446. 

Tweed,  W.  M.,  and  Tilden,  1,  418. 

Twelfth  Ohio,  in  West  Virginia  (1863),  1, 208 

Twenty-eighth  Ohio  (Second  German),  in 
West  Virginia  (1861),  1,  131,  134,  137;  in 
Antietam  campaign,  167;  in  the  Valley 
(1864),  223. 

Twenty-fourth  Ohio,  in  West  Virginia  (1861), 
1,  145;  goes  to  Kentucky,  158,  161. 

Twenty-second  Joint  Rule,  and  disputed 
election,  1,  510,  517  n. 

Twenty-second  Virginia,  in  West  Virginia 
(1862),  1,  184. 

Twenty-third  Illinois,  at  Kernstown  (1864), 
1,  230. 

Twenty-third  Ohio,  first  three-year  regiment, 
1,  122  n.;  organization,  124-126;  camp 
life,  126-128;  old-muskets  incident,  H.'s 
tact,  126  n.;  H.  on  Col.  Scammon,  127; 
advance  in  West  Virginia  (1861),  128-135; 
H.  on  character,  129,  140-142,  152,  165, 
168,  188,  189;  Carnifex  Ferry,  136-138; 
later  movements  and  camp  (1861),  139- 
143;  H.  lieutenant-colonel,  147,  150;  pur 
suit  of  Floyd  (1861),  153;  winter  quarters, 
154,  157,  160;  desire  for  other  service,  159; 
services  in  West  Virginia,  159,  160;  prepa 
ration  for  spring  campaign  (1862),  164;  H. 
commands,  165;  Pearisburg  raid  and  re 
treat,  169-177 ;  at  Flat  Top  Mountain  and 
Green  Meadows,  181-184;H.  and  change  to 
another  regiment,  184,  192,  202;  raid  on 
salt  works,  187;  march  to  Washington, 
188,  189;  march  to  Frederick,  Reno  inci 
dent,  193-197;  South  Mountain,  198-200; 
Antietam,  201;  H.  colonel,  202;  Lincoln 
and  regimental  colors,  203;  pursuit  of 
Stuart,  204;  return  to  West  Virginia,  204; 
pranks  on  89th  Ohio,  205;  and  Mrs.  Hayes, 
207;  at  Charleston,  W.  Va.  (1863),  208; 
and  Jenkins'  raid,  209;  and  Morgan's  raid, 
210-212;  and  reenlistment,  213,  214 ;  march 
to  Lewisburg,  214;  in  raid  on  East  Ten 
nessee  and  Virginia  Railroad  (1864),  217- 
222;  in  Hunter's  retreat  from  the  Valley, 
226  n.;  at  Kernstown,  230;  execution  of 
bounty  jumper,  231,  476  n.;  at  Berryville, 
236;  at  Opequon,  243  n.,  245;  and  destruc 
tion  in  the  Valley,  252;  service  in  Valley 
campaign,  266;  reunion  (1877),  2,  246; 
(1878),  263;  (1879)  H.'s  speech,  269-276; 
(1880),  288;  silver  wedding  gift  to  Mrs. 
Hayes,  319;  at  funeral  of  Mrs.  Hayes,  391; 
at  funeral  of  H.,  400. 

Tyler,  John,  H.  on  bank  veto,  1,  98. 

Tyner.J.N.,  H.  on  bureau  appointment,  2, 
89  n. 

Union,  H.  on  character,  1,  293,  294;  on  na 
tionality  as  outcome  of  Civil  War,  2,  270- 
274,  292  n.,  293-295,  341;  nationalism  as 
essence  of  Constitution,  296.  See  also 
State  sovereignty.  , 

Union  men,  H.  on  necessity  of  protecting 
Southern  (1866),  1,  286. 

Union  party,  formation,  1,  301. 

Unit  rule,  overthrown  in  Republican  conven 
tions,  1,  449,  2,  237,  240  n. 


Unwritten  law,  H.  on,  1,  90. 
Utah.  See  Mormons. 

Vallandigham,  C.  L.,  H.  on  defeat  (1863), 
1,  214;  in  State  campaign  (1867),  291;  on 
coercion  (1860),  298;  keynote  of  campaigns 
(1863-64),  war  a  failure,  304-306,  325, 
326;  on  patriotism  (1848),  324;  and  "new 
departure"  (1871),  356. 

Van  Alen,  J.  H.,  visiting  statesman  to  Louis 
iana,  report  to  H.,  1,  507. 

Van  Buren,  John,  War  Democrat,  1,  209. 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  H.  on  campaign  of  1840, 

1,  97,  98. 

Vance,  W.  J.,  on  Chandler  as  campaign  man 
ager  (1876),  1,  471  n. 

Vanderhoff,  George,  verses  on  H.,  2,  155  ». 

Van  Dorn,  Earl,  Pea  Ridge,  1,  165. 

Van  Slyke,  L.  G.,  fugitive-slave  case,  1,  94. 

Van  Vorhes,  N.  H.,  commands  brigade,  1, 
207. 

VanZandt,  C.C.,  in  H.'s  Southern  trip  (1877), 

2,  248  n. 

Vermont,  British  intrigue  during  Revolution, 
1,  9. 

Veto,  Cabinet  on  principle,  2,  123;  of  Bland 
Silver  Bill,  124-127;  of  Resumption  Bill, 
138-140;  H.  on  attempt  to  destroy  power 
through  riders  to  appropriation  bills,  180, 
183,  184,  190-194;  his  vetoes  of  such  bills, 
186-204,  205  n. 

Vice-presidency,  H.  as  possible  candidate 
(1876),  1,442. 

Virginia,  conditions  (1866),  1,  309;  H.  on  re 
construction,  336,  337. 

Virginia  Central  Railroad,  destruction  (1864), 

1,  222. 

Virginia  City,  Nevada,  H.'s  visit  (1880),  2, 
293. 

Virginia  regiments,  Confederate.  See  22d, 
36th,  45th,  51st. 

Virginia  regiments,  Federal.  See  2d,  5th, 
7th,  13th. 

Visible  admixture  law  in  Ohio,  1,  331,  335, 
339,  346. 

Visiting  statesmen,  H.  and  (1876),  1,  495  n., 
496  n.,  498  n.;  reports  to  H.,  502,  503,504n., 
507;  Federal  offices  for,  2,  108;  charge 
of  bargain  with  Louisiana  and  Florida  Re 
turning  Boards,  145,  157-160;  revelations 
of  Cipher  Dispatches,  162-167. 

Voting,  H.  on  frauds  and  remedy,  1,  332;  H, 
and  registry  law  in  Ohio,  412;  attempted 
repeal  of  use  of  troops  at  polls,  2,  170,  183, 

186,  187;  H.'s  attitude  on  this,  184,  185; 
veto  of  such  a  bill,  185-194;  military  in 
terference  prevented  by  other  laws,  185, 

187,  194 ;  bill  as  destroying  power  of  Fed 
eral  civil  authorities,  184,  188,  189,  194; 
veto  of  bill  to  forbid  troops  at  place  of 
election,    195-197;   act  to   forbid   use  of 
troops  as  police  power  at  polls,  200,  201  n. 
See  also  Federal  election  laws,  Suffrage. 

Wade,  B.  F.,  in  New  Orleans  (1866) ,  1,  289; 
and  nomination  for  Governor  (1875),  384; 
on  H.  as  presidential  candidate  (1875), 
405;  and  his  candidacy  443  n.;  seconds  his 
nomination,  448;  on  H.'s  Southern  policy, 

2,  65. 

Waite,  A.  T.,  from  H.  (1883)  on  retirement, 
2,  361  n. 

Waite,  M.  R.,  and  Electoral  Commission,  1, 
529  n.;  at  Grant's  state  dinner  to  H.,  2,  5; 
administers  oath  in  private,  5;  at  reunion 
of  23d  Ohio  (1877),  247;  social  relations 
with  H.,  305;  Peabody  Education  Fund, 


INDEX 


487 


351;  Slater  Fund,  352;  on  Henry  George's 
theories,  383. 

Walker,  F.  A.,  International  Silver  Confer 
ence,  2,  127  n. 

Walker,  George,  on  demand  for  free  silver 
2,  127  n. 

Walker,  James,  H.  on  sermon  on  measure  ol 
life,  1,38;  on  cruelty  for  sport,  40;  on  stand 
ard  of  action,  40. 

Walker,  Timothy,  lawyer  in  Cincinnati,  1,  58 
Rosetta  fugitive-slave  case.  94. 

Wallace,  Lew,  Monocacy,  1,  227;  H.  on  ap 
pointment,  2,  108;  charges  against,  as  visit 
ing  statesman  to  Florida,  159,  160. 

Wanamaker,  John,  at  H.'s  funeral,  2,  399. 

Ward,  Durbin,  on  Fifteenth  Amendment,  1, 
359. 

Warden,  R.  B.,  at  H.'s  reunion  of  Literary 
Club,  2,  323. 

Warden,  W.  W.,  at  H.'s  reunion  of  Literary 
Club,  2,  323. 

Ware,  James,  Revolutionary  soldier,  1,  78  n. 

Warner,  C.  D.,  on  Mrs.  Hayes,  2,  317  n. 

Warren,  G.  K.,  H.  disparages,  1,  270. 

Warren,  S.  B.,  in  West  Virginia  (1862),  1, 
180;  in  retreat  from  the  Valley  (1864), 
226  n. 

Washburne,  E.  B.,  votes  for,  for  presiden 
tial  nomination  (1876),  1,  450  n.;  candi 
dacy  (1880),  2,  237. 

Washington,  George,  and  British  intrigue  in 
Vermont,  1,  9;  and  First  Bank  Act,  42;  on 
the  Union,  294;  H.  on  character,  2,  358  n., 
359  n.,  387  n.;  centennial  of  inauguration, 
386. 

Washington,  D.  C.,  army  arrangements  at 
(18G2),  1,  189;  Early's  campaign  against, 
227;  social  extravagance  during  Grant's 
administrations,  2,  299  n.;  H.  on  Grand 
Army  Encampment  (1892),  393  n.  See 
also  White  House. 

Washington  Monument,  H.'s  interest,  2, 
225  n.;  incident  of  renewed  construction, 
443. 

Washington  Star,  on  meetings  of  H.'s  Cabi 
net,  2,  303  n. ;  on  H.'s  first  reception,  311  n. 

Watterson,  Henry,  on  disputed  election,  1, 
535  n.;  on  Davis  and  Electoral  Commis 
sion,  537  n. 

Watts,  J.  W.,  dispute  as  presidential  elector 
(1876),  1,  508. 

Wealth,  H.  on  dangers  of  excessive  fortunes, 
2,  381-385. 

Weasner,  T.  H.,  on  H.'s  congressional  nomi 
nation  (1864),  1,  235  n. 

Webb,  Isaac,  Revolutionary  soldier,  1,  77, 
78  n. 

Webb,  Isaac,  academy,  on  H.,  1,  17,  18. 

Webb,  J.  D.,  army  surgeon,  1,  121. 

Webb,  J.  T.,  war  spirit,  1,  121;  surgeon  of 
23d  Ohio,  127;  in  West  Virginia  opera 
tions  (1861),  134,  140,  154;  illness,  143; 
discontent,  160;  on  adventures  of  Union 
man,  166  n.;  army  incident,  168;  in  West 
Virginia  operations  (1862),  171;  in  Antie- 
tam  campaign,  196,  200;  on  H.'s  staff,  240  n. 

Webb,  James,  career,  1,  77,  2,  442,  445. 

Webb,  Lucy  W.  See  Hayes,  Lucy  W.(Webb). 

Webb,  Maria  (Cook),  1,  77;  frees  slaves,  78; 
at  daughter's  wedding,  81;  home  with 
daughter,  82,  83;  and  the  war,  121;  at 
Camp  Chase,  128;  at  H.'s  camp  (1863), 
209. 

Weber,  Max,  expects  to  displace  H.  after 
Cedar  Creek.  1,  262. 

Webster,  Daniel,  H.  on,  as  political  speaker, 
1,  35,  40;  as  pleader,  45;  H.  on  defeat  for 


nomination  (1852),  102;  civil  service  re 
form  order  (1841),  2,  79  n.;  on  Federal  aid 
for  education,  292;  anecdote  of  reply  to 
Hayne,  327  n. 

Webster,  G.  P.,  War  Democrat,  1,  301. 
Weed,  S.  M.,  Cipher  Dispatches,  2,  163,  165. 
Weir,  L.  C.,  and  H.'s  journey  to  Washington 
(1877),  2,  3;  at  H.'s  silver  wedding,  2,  318. 
Welles,  Gideon,  H.  on  supposed  resignation 

(1862),  1,  161. 

Wells,  J.  M.,  Sherman's  good  opinion,  1,  503, 

507;  H.  on  Federal  appointment,  2,  109  n. 

Wells,  Samuel,  British  intrigue  in  Vermont, 

1,9. 
Welsh,  John,  H.  on  appointment  to  foreign 

mission,  2,  89  n. 

West,  W.  A.,  in  West  Virginia  (1862),  1, 177. 
West  Virginia,  attitude  of  inhabitants  (1861), 
1,  129,  131;  guerrillas,  130,  131,  162-166, 
170;  Rosecrans'  advance  (1861),  Carni- 
fex  Ferry,  130-143;  H.  on  scenery,  144, 
162;  skirmishing  and  pursuit  of  Floyd,  150- 
156;  Federal  winter  quarters,  154-161; 
Federal  control,  156;  Federal  raid  to  Pearis- 
burg  and  retreat  (1862),  169-177;  Cox's 
camp  around  Flat  Top  Mountain,  176- 
187;  return  of  Cox's  division  after  Antie- 
tam,  204;  Federal  line  (1863),  207,  208, 
213;  Jenkins'  raid,  209;  Federal  move 
ment  against  Raleigh,  209;  Federal  raid 
on  East  Tennessee  and  Virginia  Railroad 
(1864),  217-222. 

West  Virginia  regiments.    See  Virginia  regi 
ments,  Federal. 
Western  Reserve  University,  H.  as  trustee, 

2,  355. 
Weston,  W.  Va.,  Federal  troops  at  (1861), 

1,  130. 
Wethersfield,  Conn.,  Russell  family,  1,  6,  7; 

Smith  family,  8. 
Wetmore,     Samuel,     Peabody     Education 

Fund,  2,  351. 

Wheeling,  R.  T.,  at  Austin,  1,  52. 
Wheeler,  W.  A.,  vice-presidential  nomina 
tion  foretold,  1,  426;  votes  for,  for  presi 
dential  nomination,  449,  450 n.;  nominated 
for  Vice-President,  452;  Wheeler  Compro 
mise,  452  n.;  to  H.    (1876)   on  Tilden's 
strength,  469  n.;  at  Grant's  state  dinner 
to  H.,  2,  5;  consulted  on  H.'s  Cabinet,  17, 
22;    and    commission    to    visit    Louisiana 
(1877),  45,  49;  social  relations  with  H., 
306,  310  n.;  H.  on,  306  n. 
Wheeler  Compromise,  1,  452  n. 
Whig  party,  H.  on  division  (1852),  1,  102. 

See  also  Elections. 
Whipple,  H.  B.,  Peabody  Education  Fund,  2, 

351;  on  Henry  George's  theories,  383. 
White,  A.  D.,  and  H.'s  presidential  candi 
dacy,  1,  442. 

White,  Harry,  visiting  statesman  to  Louis 
iana,  report  to  H.,  1,  507. 
White,  Horace,  and  conference  of  Republi 
can  reformers  (1876),  1,  430. 
White  House,  domestic  life  during  H.'s  ad 
ministration,  2,  299-302;  H.'s  routine, 
302-305;  Mrs.  Hayes's  informal  evening 
gatherings,  306-308;  religious  connection, 
309;  Sunday  evening  gatherings,  310;  holi 
day  observances,  311;  formal  receptions 
and  dinners,  311;  temperance  regime,  312- 
315;  painting  of  Mrs.  Hayes,  315;  Hayea 
Sideboard,  317;  silver  wedding,  318-321; 
Hastings-Platt  wedding,  321-323;  reunion 
of  Cincinnati  Literary  Club,  323;  H.'s  last 
season,  326. 
Whiting,  Abigail  [Mrs.  Samuel  Russell],  1,  7. 


488 


INDEX 


Whiting,  Mrs.  Rebecca  [Mrs.  John  Russell], 

1,7. 
Whitlow,  ,  bounty-jumper,  executed,  1» 

231,  476  n. 
Whitney,  Mrs.  A.  D.  T.,  on  Mrs.  Hayes,  2, 

317  n. 

Whittier,  J.  G.,  on  Mrs.  Hayes,  2,  316  n. 
Wikoff,  A.  T.,  and  strike  of  Ohio  coal  miners 

(1876),  1,  439. 

Wilber,  Mary  C.,  on  Mrs.  Hayes,  1,  74  n. 
Willard,  George,  of   joint  committee  on  dis 
puted  election,  1,  524  n. 
Williams,    J.   S.,  West    Virginia    operations 

(1862),  1,  174. 
Williamson, ,  of  Texas  (1848),  nickname, 

anecdotes,  1,  53. 
Willis,  John,  and  H.'s  visit  to  Montpelier,  2, 

2G4. 

Willis,  N.  P.,  H.  on  writings,  1,  69. 
Willoughby,  Ohio,  reunion  of  23d  Regiment, 

2,  263. 

Wilson,  J.  H.,  Opequon,  1,  239. 
Winchester,  Va.,  as  war  town,  1,  233  n.;  H.'s 

visit  (1878),  2,  265.   See  also  Opequon. 
Windom,    William,    opposes    retirement    of 

greenbacks,  2,  129  n.;  presidential  candi 
dacy  (1880),  237. 

Windsor,  Conn.,  Hayes  family,  1,  3,  4. 
Wines,  E.  C.,  and  H.,  2,  346. 
Wines,  F.  H.,  tribute  to  H.,  2,  406,  407;  on 

H.  and  growing  public  appreciation,  432. 
Winthrop,  R.  C.,  H.  on,  as  political  speaker, 

1,  35;  Peabody  Education  Fund,  2,  351; 

on  Henry  George's  theories,  383. 
Wirt,  William,  as  pleader,  1,  45. 
Wise,  H.  A.,  West  Virginia  operations  (1861), 

1,  135,  136;  and  Col.  Tompkins,  148. 
Woman  suffrage,  advocacy  by  Republican 

reformers  (1876),  1,  430;  H.'s  attitude,  2, 

381. 

Wood,  O.  J.,  on  H.'s  staff,  1,  240  n. 
Woodford,  S.  L.,  in  Ohio  sound-money  cam 
paign    (1875),    1,    405;    vice-presidential 


candidacy  (1875),  424;  nominates  Conk- 
ling  (1876),  446. 

Woodstock,  Conn.,  H.'s  speech  (1883),  2, 
349,  350. 

Woodward,  J.  J.,  social  relations  with  H.,  2, 
310  n. 

Woodward,  W.  J.,  in  West  Virginia  (1861), 
1,  137. 

Woolley,  C.  S.,  Cipher  Dispatches,  2,  162. 

Woolsey,  T.  D.,  and  conference  of  Republi 
can  reformers  (1876),  1,  430;  on  Tilden 
during  campaign,  469  n. ;  and  commission 
to  Louisiana  (1877),  2,  45;  and  H.'s  Cabi 
net,  287. 

Worcester,  Mass.,  H.'s  speech  (1877),  2, 
244. 

World  Columbian  Exposition,  H.  at  prelimi 
nary  dedication,  2,  394. 

Worth,  W.  J.,  H.  on  (1848),  1,  49. 

Wright,  H.  G.,  command  in  the  Valley  (1864), 

1,  228,  230;  under  Sheridan,  231.   See  also 
Sixth  Corps. 

Wyoming  Valley,  Pa.,  H.'s  visit  and  speech 

(1878),  2,  255. 
Wytheville,  Va.,  Federal  raid  (1863),  1,  211; 

(1864),  220. 

Yale  University,  beginning,  the  "gift  of 
books,"  1,  7  n.;  H.  at  (1880),  2,  286-288. 

Yellow  fever,  H.  and  epidemic  (1878),  2, 
228. 

Young,  Casey,  and  fraud  issue  (1878),  2, 
152  n. 

Young,  J.  R.,  and  Grant's  candidacy  (1879), 

2,  236  n. 

Youngstown,  Ohio,  H.'s  speech  (1868),  1, 
350;  (1879),  2,  269-276. 

Zimmerman,  W.  H.,  company  in  23d  Ohio, 
1,  125;  in  West  Virginia  campaign  (1861), 
137,  142;  raid  on  salt  works  (1862),  187; 
return  to  West  Virginia  (1862),  206. 

Zollicoffer,  F.  K.,  Mills  Springs,  1,  162. 


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